Victor King - Malaysia--Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

eISBN: 978-1-85733-611-5

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright 2008 Kuperard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

Culture Smart! is a registered trademark of Bravo Ltd

First published in Great Britain 2008
by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd
59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8446 2441
www.culturesmart.co.uk
Inquiries:

Series Editor Geoffrey Chesler

Cover image: The Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur. Travel Ink/Geoffrey Clive
Images courtesy of Tourism Malaysia

Images Henryk Kotoviski

v3.1

The Federation of Malaysia, a nation of 27 million people and a constitutional monarchy and democracy, is one of the successful newly industrializing countries of the Asia Pacific region. Formerly a relatively small but economically vital part of the British Empire, and a major exporter of the primary products of tin and rubber, Malaysia now has a diversified economic profile. It is still an important source of natural resources and tropical agricultural productspetroleum, natural gas, tin, copper, iron ore, bauxite, sawn timber and wood products, rattan, palm oil, pepper, coconut, pineapple, and rubberbut it is also a manufacturer of electrical and electronic goods, textiles, vehicles, and chemicals, with a growing services sector including a fast expanding tourism industry. It pursues a relatively open-door economic policy and plays an active role in regional and other international organizations.

In many respects Malaysia is a modern nation-state, and from a predominantly rural society in the immediate postwar years it has become an increasingly urbanized one. Nevertheless, elements of the traditional past remain. The country still presents the visitor with an exciting and fascinating medley of culturesMalay, Chinese, Indian, Arab, Eurasian, Dayak, and aboriginal. These communities have retained, though in a much changed form, a considerable amount of their cultural heritage, and Malaysia continues to demonstrate the virtues of a culturally diverse, exotic, and vibrant plural society in customs, religion, festivals, costume, cuisine, language, and architecture.

To help foreign visitors and residents navigate this rich and complex cultural mix, Culture Smart! Malaysia provides a succinct and straightforward introduction to Malaysian history and society. It explains the deeper core values of the different ethnic groups, and guides you through Malaysian etiquette and behavior so that you might be inclined to do the right rather than the wrong things. Human intelligence is key to successful relationships. But nothing is guaranteed in a globalized world. We all take our chances and hope that we are sufficiently sensitive to be able to survive those awkward cross-cultural moments.

This is a guide, not a definitive document on what should or should not be done in a variety of situations. Much of what is provided here is based on common sense, and assumes that when we encounter people of other cultures we all try to behave reasonably. It can tell you what might offend and what might please, but ultimately its up to the reader to respond positively to another culture, to engage, relate, interact, and understand. If you have a passion for learning about other cultures, then stay with us on this journey to Malaysia!