Impressions about Malaysia and Chile
Malaysia is very different from Chile, but at the same time it has a lot of similarities with my country. At the beginning, during my first days in Malaysia, I felt that even the air had a different smell! As the days went by, I realized that Kuala Lumpur was similar to Chile?s capital city, Santiago, in terms of size and transportation, but different in many other aspects.
One of the things I liked the most about Malaysia is how people respect and tolerate each other. There is a mix of cultures (Malay, Indian, Chinese and others) and religions (Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and others). So Malaysia is far more cosmopolitan than Chile, and you can notice the differences everywhere, especially among women. For example, in a bus you can see a Muslim girl wearing veil and tunic sitting next to a Chinese, non-Muslim girl wearing a fashionable t-shirt and a skirt. And they can even be best friends!
However, the cosmopolitanism of Malaysia has it dark side, because Malaysia might lose part of its original identity. The clearest example is the use of bikes. I was very surprised to notice that in Kuala Lumpur bikes practically do not exist. They were replaced by motorbikes and cars. But decades ago bikes were the most popular mean of transport in the city?
The behaviour of people during celebrations is beautiful. For instance, Chinese New Year is not celebrated only by the Chinese. You can see Malay and Indian people giving mandarins to everyone and celebrating with their families. As I was told, usually the Chinese invite other people to their houses during Chinese New Year to have dinner, and they are invited as well to other people's houses during the holidays that come from other cultures.
Another thing that Chile should learn from Malaysia is the development of tourism. In Malaysia you can find plenty of free maps and brochures that really improve your tourist experience, as well as accommodation and tourist packages for all kind of budgets. Besides, the merchandising is very well developed. I always remember the strawberry farm in Cameron Highlands: There was nothing special about it, but next to it there was a store full of strawberry-themed souvenirs and a restaurant with only strawberry-based food and drinks. Most of the people spent some money there. Malaysia truly knows that tourism is a very good business. Chile has a lot of potential for tourism, but the opportunities are not seized accordingly, or not seized at all. And this is related to one of the most important differences between Chile and Malaysia: The use of English. If English were spoken in Chile as widely as it is in Malaysia, tourism could be developed faster, as well as many other industries, because there would be more relations with people from other countries. But in Chile English is not widely spoken and I think that this is an important limitation for the development of the country.
Economies in Chile and Malaysia are very different. Malaysia is a much more industrialized country. In fact, my Walkman was made in Malaysia, and I bought it here in Chile a few years ago? Many international companies have factories in Malaysia. It is possible to see some of these companies? factories in Kuala Lumpur, like Western Digital. During my internship I also learned a lot about the MRO industry (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) which is very developed in Southeast Asia. The industrialization in Malaysia is because the Government made efforts for making Malaysia an industrialized country, supporting national companies like Proton and Petronas and also creating the investment company Khazanah (where two of my colleagues performed their internship).
Regarding politics, I actually did not learn much about it in Malaysia. I did learn that Malaysia has 13 provinces or states, and each province has its own sultan. The head of state is chosen among the 13 sultans (Now I have just found that there are actually only 9 sultans, the other 4 are Governors and do not participate in the selection). This is quite different from Chile, because Chile is a Republic and Presidents are chosen among a list of candidates that had to apply for the elections, so their positions are not hereditary like Sultans. Despite of this, I felt that Chile and Malaysia are similar because they both are relatively stable countries, economically and politically.
Everyday life in Malaysia is very peaceful and safe. People usually warned me that I should not walk alone at night, because it was dangerous, but I felt that it was safer than in Chile. I think that this is because Malaysian society is much more conservative and strict than Chilean society, because of the influence of Islamism. There are heavy incentives for not doing many things. For example, drinking alcohol is not allowed for the Muslims and alcoholic drinks are far more expensive than in most of the countries, despite the fact that the cost of living in Malaysia is relatively low. Drug trafficking is penalized with capital punishment. There are fines for eating, drinking or littering in the stations of the LRT lines. These fines do not exist in Chilean Metro (subway). Chileans rarely litter inside the Metro subway, but they do eat or drink sometimes.
I think that robbery is perceived by people as a very serious crime, no matter the amount of the robbery. In Chile this is different: Some people might think that is not so terrible to steal something small. And this is very bad for Chile reputation in other countries; because sometimes people take small objects when they are abroad in order to keep them as souvenirs. However, other forms of stealing are very similar between Chile and Malaysia, like pirate movies and music.
Family life in Malaysia seems to be very important. During weekends it is possible to see families playing badminton or football in the parks. Other people have more sophisticated hobbies such as playing with remote-controlled cars.
Malaysian food is not so different from Chile and it is not hard to get accustomed to. The main difference is that most of the food is hot or spicy and the rice is the base for most of the meals, unlike Chile where rice is only an accompaniment and food is not spicy (despite the name of the country). While I was in Malaysia I missed Chilean bread, because it does not exist in Malaysia. On the other hand, now that I am in Chile, I miss ice tea and teh tarik a lot? Another important aspect of Malaysian food is the distinction between Halal and non Halal food (only Halal food is allowed for the Muslims). Usually non Halal food is related to Chinese cuisine, but there is also Chinese halal food.
Overall, in my opinion Malaysia is a very nice country, and it is an excellent point to start knowing more about Asia, due to the special mix of cultures and religions that coexist in the country. Chile should learn about the tolerance and respect shown by Malaysian people, as well as try to imitate the development of Malaysia's technology and tourism industries.
Chinese New Year Luncheon with MAS colleagues
Dinner at KL Tower hosted by Dato' Capt. Nawawi and family. Beatriz (second from left) is another Chilean intern at MAS
www.kln.gov.my/perwakilan/santiago