Malaysia: the “Tame” Home Base of the Southeast Asia Traveler

“God, it’s absolutely too late that I came upon this piece of heaven on Earth!”  Exclaimed the slightly tipsy Indian man from India as our conversation about Malaysia got a bit more enthusiastic.  The location was outside a rather well-known liquor store on the main party drag of Bukit Bintang, and occasion was a casual gathering of the travel-minded on a rowdy Friday night, an alcoholic extension of a dinner gathering.  The camaraderie of complete strangers also felt more intimate than long-time friendships.

Exaggerated as the statement from the Indian man seems, the sentiment was well-echoed through the group of 60-plus people that came from all around the globe.  Aside from the standard European backpackers doing their “transitions” from job to job, the gathering managed to attract a healthy portion of Middle Easterners, South Asians, and Africans, groups that are normally quite underrepresented in the causal travelers’ market.  The fact that such a diverse group gathers here does say much about how Malaysia is perceived.

Digging a slightly more into the “Malaysia as heaven on Earth” comment, it is clear that the country’s “middle of the road” image among the newly arrived keep them coming back despite their range of travels across the Southeast Asian region.  Inexpensive, relatively well-developed but still slightly edgy at times, not to mention locals’ fluency in English, Malaysia often became the most ideal calm home base as their globetrotters set their feet on the chaotic streets, jungles, and islands of its geographic proximity.

Surely enough, after their travels in the region, many in this group of travelers somehow managed to make Malaysia their permanent home.  Including the Indian man who made the above exaggerated comment, many of the enthusiasts in the group, despite restrictions on employment of foreigners, spared no effort to job-search in the country, landing positions in a whole range of local and multinational firms so they can continue to experience the country for what it is on a more long-lasting way. 

And this flow of foreigners into Malaysia and Southeast Asia as a whole is on a steady upward trend.  Despite certain news of political instabilities and man-made disasters, the economic growth of the region has made tourist- and foreigner-friendly facilities more available.  Those among the group, working in the tourist industries, gleefully noted the spikes in inbound traffic from rather abnormal places like Russia, Eastern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa.  This is well-reflected on the diversity of people on the streets.

The passion with which these foreign travelers and long-time residents speak of Malaysia, in contrast, does not reflect all that well on the author’s often negative portrayal of the country in past residential experiences.  While not denying the continuing political/racial fiascos that throw up gloomy shadows over the future of the country, it may be more productive to look at what makes many others so bullish about the country.  Perhaps ignorance really is bliss on this sort of things.

Either way, two years from the day the author landed in Malaysia from London for the very first time, the country is due for a full reevaluation.  It ought to be done from a separate aspect, one that involves not work and political realities, but one that is centered on the experience of the foreigners and the locals that are more involved in the foreign crowd.  Yes, this may be a rather small group, but it is a disproportionately influential one that will set the image of foreigners in Malaysian society and that of Malaysia abroad.

It is through the efforts and behaviors of this rather small group of foreigners that Malaysia will change.  It will become more accepting of its inherently multicultural orientation, and it will become more involved in regional and international affairs for which it can play a more constructive role.  And hopefully, all these foreigners that are so passionate about the country can ultimately be treated at least as honorary citizens, bringing a more positive view of the country to a global audience in this time of difficulties.