The Supposed "Danger" of Living in Malaysia
On a rowdy Friday, the author found himself talking to a 15-year veteran of Malaysian residence hailing from the Mother Continent (Nigeria to be exact), running a business importing, selling, and installing surveillance and security systems to local clientele. Asked about the briskness of business, the elderly gentleman unequivocally announced that competition is heavy but market is big for a small country. The reason, he theorized with the author, is the mentality of Malaysian people. Specifically, the locals, he said, are convinced of their country's array of dangers, so much so that the level of trust for anyone remain low.
Such observation is not lost on the author even after the previous half-year spell of living in Kuala Lumpur. It is difficult for any foreigner curious about exploring the town and the country to be oblivious to the constant warning by locals in response to such curiosity. "It is SO dangerous," they would sincerely say, going on to remind the "mindless" foreigners to not walk around anywhere at night, and to not even go to certain places during the day. While the masses of sketchy characters that inhabit KL's downtown does draw frowns from the passerby, to conclude that the whole city is therefore dangerous is perhaps stretching the truth.
The local's overt fear of open crimes, ranging from pick-pocketing to holdups to kidnapping, is as unsubstantiated and exaggerated as they are highly influential to the structure of the Malaysian economy and society. Without a doubt, this new Nigerian friend of the author's is certainly a beneficiary. But the massive expenses locals willing put to monitor every visible aspect of their lives also secretly turn whole communities into voluntary Big Brother-esque neighborhoods where no one can do anything without having behaviors recorded and, quite conceivably, used for blackmailing when needs call for such.
Indeed, for the Nigerian gentleman's business to succeed and expand in this small market of 23 million people, the idea of "surveillance one-upmanship" is essential. That is, due to the omnipresence of security systems that signals potential danger and need for suspecting others in a particular area, everyone inhabiting that area would then need to guarantee their safety by, what else, purchase and installation of more security devices. There is every incentive for the surveillance business to continue pointing out the security systems in place already as evidence to convince all Malaysians that their society is fraught with danger at every corner.
To go a step further, it can very much be argued that the predominant use of cars (as opposed to development of public transport systems) and shopping malls (as opposed to a series of small shops lining the street-side) are testaments to how entrenched the idea that "Malaysia is a dangerous country" has become among the locale populace. It be because people are fundamentally afraid of walking the streets that the streets are emptied out of pedestrians and any shops that may be patronized by them. In a vicious cycle, these emptiness of these streets further dissuade people for going unless by comfort of automobiles.
The eerie similarity with the prevalence of cars in the US can be cited here to argue that the general direction of Malaysian city-scape, dotted with indoor shopping centers, enclosed condos, their parking lots, and not much else, is one necessarily taken as a society develop economically. But while the American populacce can cite high homicide rates, gun ownership, and other not-so-salient crime stats to back up the claim that they need to go about their daily lives in the comfort of their cars, the same, at least til now, cannot be said of the Malaysian case.
While ruthlessly ridiculing the Malaysian belief that this country is much more dangerous than the US, the Nigerian gentleman wisely pointed out that the regional disparity in wealth is the cause of dangers in the US, while the feeling encompasses all locations and timings in Malaysia. Certainly enough, the American city always has some neighborhoods where pedestrian friendliness, along with all the perks of car-free lifestyle, such as numerous bike lanes and street-side shopping are present. Additionally, even in car-centric cities like LA, the move toward public transport is successfully taking private cars off the streets.
The same cannot be said of Malaysia. As far as the author knows, there are no neighborhoods where integrated living is possible with only use of public transport. And this is not because public transport is absent, but because even in its presence, people forego it for the fear of criminal activities unfairly associated with them. Ultimately, it would be the mentality of fear without evidence that keep the security systems in place, public transport underused, and streets empty. Fear breeds fear, and more things done against potential crimes, the more people think crimes are everywhere and excessive precautions are needed.
Such observation is not lost on the author even after the previous half-year spell of living in Kuala Lumpur. It is difficult for any foreigner curious about exploring the town and the country to be oblivious to the constant warning by locals in response to such curiosity. "It is SO dangerous," they would sincerely say, going on to remind the "mindless" foreigners to not walk around anywhere at night, and to not even go to certain places during the day. While the masses of sketchy characters that inhabit KL's downtown does draw frowns from the passerby, to conclude that the whole city is therefore dangerous is perhaps stretching the truth.
The local's overt fear of open crimes, ranging from pick-pocketing to holdups to kidnapping, is as unsubstantiated and exaggerated as they are highly influential to the structure of the Malaysian economy and society. Without a doubt, this new Nigerian friend of the author's is certainly a beneficiary. But the massive expenses locals willing put to monitor every visible aspect of their lives also secretly turn whole communities into voluntary Big Brother-esque neighborhoods where no one can do anything without having behaviors recorded and, quite conceivably, used for blackmailing when needs call for such.
Indeed, for the Nigerian gentleman's business to succeed and expand in this small market of 23 million people, the idea of "surveillance one-upmanship" is essential. That is, due to the omnipresence of security systems that signals potential danger and need for suspecting others in a particular area, everyone inhabiting that area would then need to guarantee their safety by, what else, purchase and installation of more security devices. There is every incentive for the surveillance business to continue pointing out the security systems in place already as evidence to convince all Malaysians that their society is fraught with danger at every corner.
To go a step further, it can very much be argued that the predominant use of cars (as opposed to development of public transport systems) and shopping malls (as opposed to a series of small shops lining the street-side) are testaments to how entrenched the idea that "Malaysia is a dangerous country" has become among the locale populace. It be because people are fundamentally afraid of walking the streets that the streets are emptied out of pedestrians and any shops that may be patronized by them. In a vicious cycle, these emptiness of these streets further dissuade people for going unless by comfort of automobiles.
The eerie similarity with the prevalence of cars in the US can be cited here to argue that the general direction of Malaysian city-scape, dotted with indoor shopping centers, enclosed condos, their parking lots, and not much else, is one necessarily taken as a society develop economically. But while the American populacce can cite high homicide rates, gun ownership, and other not-so-salient crime stats to back up the claim that they need to go about their daily lives in the comfort of their cars, the same, at least til now, cannot be said of the Malaysian case.
While ruthlessly ridiculing the Malaysian belief that this country is much more dangerous than the US, the Nigerian gentleman wisely pointed out that the regional disparity in wealth is the cause of dangers in the US, while the feeling encompasses all locations and timings in Malaysia. Certainly enough, the American city always has some neighborhoods where pedestrian friendliness, along with all the perks of car-free lifestyle, such as numerous bike lanes and street-side shopping are present. Additionally, even in car-centric cities like LA, the move toward public transport is successfully taking private cars off the streets.
The same cannot be said of Malaysia. As far as the author knows, there are no neighborhoods where integrated living is possible with only use of public transport. And this is not because public transport is absent, but because even in its presence, people forego it for the fear of criminal activities unfairly associated with them. Ultimately, it would be the mentality of fear without evidence that keep the security systems in place, public transport underused, and streets empty. Fear breeds fear, and more things done against potential crimes, the more people think crimes are everywhere and excessive precautions are needed.
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