Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: another growing Asian mega-city that makes our own cities look dowdy and run-down by comparison.
Thanks everyone. FReerepublic is the best site for information on any and all things. With the exception of Trolls, there is no BS here!
Three thoughts:
1) Wow, you’re a real romantic, aren’t you. </sarc>
2) Malaysia is almost exclusively Muzzie, so watch out. She may be a big liar.
3) Didn’t this thread already get pulled once today?
One thing I would definitely recommend is that you invest in an atlas or at least a good map of the world.
If you did just that much you could easily find out that Malaysia is not “in the middle of the ocean out there somewhere north of Australia”.
THAT description more accurately fits Indonesia.
Malaysia is mostly well anchored on the vast eurasian continent, and while it does have shorelines, like most of the earth’s nations, it is no more “in the middle of the ocean out there somewhere” than Canada or France.
There are MANY europeans and other Christians in Malaysia, as well as Buddhists, Hindus and others, despite Malaysia being a majority Muslim, and hence participating fully in the worldwide Muslim insanity.
Hopefully, your friend is safe and chooses her companions with care.
Good luck.
To a certain degree this is another one of those 'center of the world' areas ~ massive amounts of goods and products travel the straits and always have.
In general the population in Malaysia is mostly Malay, with a large population of Chinese ~ then there are Brits, Indians, Vietnamese, etc. Sun Yet San had his headquarters in Penang.
Buddhism and Islam are well represented there, but there are also Christians. My understanding is most of the information on the internet is fairly reliable ~ so start with Penang and then Kuala Lumpur.
English is widely spoken, particularly in the service industries, as is Hokienese but with a Malaysian flavor ~ that being that upwards of 30% of the vocabulary is Dutch. Mandarin is in widespread use in business/trade, and then there's Bahasa Malaysia ~ which is very similar to Bahasa Indonesie and Tagalog (at least at the level of basic Malay grammar and vocabulary).
These people eat fiery hot food ~ and it's not unusual to see someone fry up a 300,000 scovil unit pepper slathered in garlic to toss into a bowl of noodles for a snack. Then there's the shrimp paste ~ not even going to talk about that.
The country is earning a pre-eminent position in the tea and spice markets with high quality products grown in relatively modern ways with an eye to hygiene. If you buy unground pepper it will state where the pepper came from ~
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: another growing Asian mega-city that makes our own cities look dowdy and run-down by comparison.
my fiance is also Christian, in a 90% muslim nation.
if you go here (it’s free, even to join and chat),
you can talk to people in the Malasia section.
most are very helpful. http://www.visajourney.com/
The religious situation there is that if you are ethnically Malay, you are Muslim or else. If you are ethnically Chinese, you may choose freely (until you choose Islam, that is). There is a loud and public faction trying to limit Christian activity, which is already quite restricted. It is a crime to present Christianity to a Malay or a Chinese Muslim, for example.
How many stupid children besides you did your Momma raise?
They had a lot of commercials on TV about religious tolerance. I picked up on some religious tension there.
In many Asian cultures, you marry the family, women control the money, and you help support relatives...
They’re beautiful and respectful.
Take your time. No hurries man.
People get murdered that way. Seriously. Just keep it in mind.
I’ve traveled to Malaysia five times on business. I find it to be an amazing place. Kuala Lumpur is absolutely breathtaking - clean, orderly, with polite and docile citizens. They seem to take great pride in social graces, as I never once encountered any one that I would consider rude or impatient. I never strayed too far into the rural areas, but the infrastructure seems to be in great shape and well developed. I’ve also been in Johor Bahru and Ipoh and they seemed as orderly as Kuala Lumpur, just not nearly as dynamic. Most of the citizens are muslim, but they are very much not radical and the country protects all religions. In the cities, I never had a problem finding people that communicated in Englis, but I’m sure that is not the case in the rural areas. It is a beautiful and memorable place. Most of the women are stunning!
Your tax dollars at work (Secure CIA site):
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html
This link should get you some useful information.
I forgot to add: everyone I encountered there was very well educated, men and women alike. If I recall correctly, over 60% of the women there are college educated.
Ya’ can’t find an acceptable mate from among 300 million individuals here in your Mother Country; one who you can actually see and evaluate? But you’re already half-crocked over an unseen, unknown quantity from the other side of the world whose very location and sphere of living, and at least 50% of her ethnicity weights the odds heavily on the side of her being “trouble” to an American Christian?
Consideration of the myriad ways in which this scenario could result in great, severe and long-lasting misery for you, leads me to visualize you as the poster boy for the concept: “Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Tread.” And to my mind, you are also a strong contender for poster boy of, “He asked for it” and for “You Brought on Yourself,”
I have been to Malaysia a number of times and it is quite a nice place - in fact, KL (Kuala Lumpur) is one of my favorite cities and reminds me of a miniature (and very inexpensive) Singapore - another of my VERY FAVORITE places on earth. The population of Malaysia is nearly 30 million - close to the population of Canada.
The population breakdown is thus:
Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)
The economy is TOTALLY run and dominated by the Chinese, and like much of Asia, the economy is stratified thus:
1.) Chinese have the top spots and most money
2.) Western Expats also used to, although this is becoming rarer - still, Europeans are seen as desirable
3.) Indians - second tier... IT People, taxi drivers...
4.) Malays - seen as lazy and incompetent - the make up some 50% of the population .
Bumis (Bumiputras) - or ‘sons of the soil’ are Malay Muslims. They have erected countless laws to give themselves favoritism over the dominant Chinese and others. They get better home mortgage rates, preferential hiring, etc.
A “Bumi” (pronounced; “boomie”) must be a Muslim.
There is resentment against them by the non-Bumis.
European/American men are HIGHLY sought after in Malaysia - as in all of Asia.
You very often see quite old and even ELDERLY American/European men walking hand-in-hand with smoking-hot Asian women. More lopsided in Malaysia than even in the Philippines... I once saw a guy who appeared to be 90 years old and barely able to walk with a girl in her twenties that could have been a Playboy model.
Don’t listen to the people that are afraid of the Internet. Since I became widowed I have found a number of nice ladies on the Internet and am with one now in a long-term relationship. She is much younger than I am and we are both happy. She pays her own way and has a good career.
Go out and have fun, but as always, be careful.
Checking online here proves that you are rightfully cautious and a bit skeptical... but, Asia is a place where you can find a good companion. Asian women are lovely.
Good luck!