For newcomers to Malaysia, there are countless things that make Malaysians unique. From our habits to our food obsessions, we have our own set of quirks and cultural traits.
Here are seven distinctly Malaysian things that highlight what makes our culture so vibrant and diverse.
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#1 A Malaysian Greeting
The Malaysian “HEY” is summed up in two words.
- “Dah Makan?” (Malay)
- “Chiak Par Boey?” (Hokkien)
- “Sek Pow Meh?” (Cantonese) and
- “Have you eaten?” (English, but of course)
Malaysian hospitality, they greet each other whenever they meet.
The greetings change slightly if they meet their friends at restaurants, café, or Mamak.
- “Makan ke?”
- “Chiak ar?”
- “Sek yeah.”
- “Eating ar?”
Jom Makan! Malaysians hate to see a fellow Malaysian go hungry. So they will offer and ply each other with food.
ALL THE TIME…
Feeling excited about attending an “Open House” during festivities is a Malaysian thing.
Office-organized buffet dinners at hotels and Malaysian companies organized conferences and events with the maximum number of ‘refreshments’ and ‘tea breaks.’
It’s an expectation to be fed. <kaw kaw>
Burp!
Author Billy Law’s caricature of a man with an enormous mouth, saying, “Have you eaten?” Source: Billy Law.
#2 Malaysians Can Eat Around the Clock
With Malay Mail naming Penang as a 24-hour street food experience, it is no wonder that Malaysia’s favorite pastime is EATING.
Malay Mail lists the mammoth task of eating around the clock, with a pit stop for food and more food every hour.
Most visitors who have heard of Penang’s fabulous street food may balk at a Malaysian’s ability to stretch their stomachs down to their legs!
Do Malaysians have a sense of time?
A rubber time that makes appointments and lateness appear tardy, with a resounding YES.
With food and eating out, Malaysians have no sense of time.
Malaysians can have a Teh Tarik, a Roti Canai, a Nasi Lemak, or soup at three in the morning!
The flourishing 24-hour Mamak joints are a testament to this.
Eating is a Malaysian national sport! Seriously.
Ask any full-bellied Malaysian; they will raise their hands high and be ready to sign up at the mere mention of an open house and a FREE buffet.
Come to think of it, Malaysians only EAT one meal a day. It just goes on and on and on!
The long weekends draw Malaysians to the suburbs for local delicacies. They will wait hours for a table and another few hours to eat. Photo: Doris Lim.
#3 Malaysians Love Food Trips (Road Trips)
No distance is too far nor too farfetched to a Malaysian foodie.
Claypot Crab in Chemor, Ipoh? No problem.
Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee “Tai loke mee” in KL, Sap-sap Sui (Cantonese for extremely easy).
Penang Assam Laksa, Jom! (Malay for let’s go)
World Street Food Congress nominated Penang’s Line Clear Nasi Kandar Restaurant and Siam Road Char Koay Teow to the World Street Food Top 50 for the best street food.
Line Clear has no problem as they have the workforce to cook and serve their customers speedily.
However, Uncle Char Koay Teow, who operates a pushcart stall, is stressed by social media attention.
His only helper is his son.
Viral Posts
A recent FB post by SmartDory went viral and grabbed the attention of many Char Koay Teow fans, who discovered Uncle had taken a 10-day hiatus.
The Star says, “A video uploaded on Facebook recently saw some 15 people queuing up at Tan’s “spot” in Siam Road even before he arrived. Chants of “Char Koay Teow! Char Koay Teow!” were heard as he pulled over.”
According to Says.com, “In a post that has gone viral on Facebook, it would seem that the Char Koay Teow uncle has elected to take a 10-day vacation throughout the Raya break and school holidays.”
World of Buzz says this: “In a recent post on Smartdory’s Facebook page, a sign stated that his stall would be closed for ten days, from June 24 to July 3. Amusingly, it was captioned, “UNCLE KENOT TAHAN THE STRESS. PLEASE BE KIND.”
We suggest going to other Char Koay Teow stalls in Penang, which are equally good.
There’s even one in a café fried with a duck’s egg reputed to “fight” any lard-infused one in a Kopitiam.
For Malaysians, going the extra kilometer or even off-road for good, delicious food is justifiable.
Malaysians make a beeline for the Siam Road Char Koay Teow in Penang. During the Hari Raya break, the expected crowd prompted this response from Uncle.
#4 Malaysians wait in Queues for Food
A recent phenomenon. Really. No joke.
Malaysians have joined the compliant queuing nations of the world.
Think Japanese waiting in line in Disneyland, Japan.
You get the idea.
Recently, a queue formed way ahead of time, even before the pushcart stall arrived, with chanting.
This phenomenon is repeated in other stalls as well. Lines of people queuing for food are forming all over George Town.
Long queues are standard now in George Town as customers line up patiently for their delicious street food. Photo: Doris Lim.
#5 Sports Mad Malaysians
After all that food, it’s no wonder that Malaysians are Asia’s most obese! We’re not a sport-playing nation like Canadians.
We’re an obsessive lot.
Malaysians are obsessed with the sports channel and watching sports live!
The best place to watch live sports is not at home but at any 24-hour Mamak outlet for Malaysians.
Malaysians love football and badminton, but not necessarily in that order.
Malaysians may bicker, mutter, and protest about policies and politics.
But all these bad feelings evaporate when it’s Thomas Cup season.
We forget our differences and cheer our national athletes!
Lee Chong Wei won the All-England title in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2017, which made Malaysians beam with national pride.
Top-ranked Lee Chong Wei won his fourth All-England Open crown. Source: Reuters photo.
#6 The Malaysian 555 Notebook
The “Buku 555” is a small notebook commonly used for taking notes and jotting unpaid debts.
The pocket-sized, no-frills, thin-lined notebook is so Malaysian that everyone knows it when “555” is mentioned.
We pronounce it triple five or, in Hokkien, “sar eh goh.” “555” fits nicely in a shirt pocket.
Most Malaysians will remember an older family member buying “555” notebooks in bulk by the dozen.
The “555” notebooks cost 5 cents each back then and now about 20 cents each.
Your parents will remember this 555 booklet, in which the grocery shop and Kopitiam’s uncle jot down what they want you to take or eat daily from their shops.
The little notebooks are used to record many things.
Daily marketing expenditures, tontine money (illegal), punter’s manual of supposed lucky numbers, doodles, scribbles, and even meeting notes!
These are the Excel spreadsheets old merchants use to record their daily transactions.
Chettiar moneylenders would wave this when hounding borrowers to repay their debts.
All this is before the advent of credit cards.
The “Buku 555” was ubiquitous in the 50s and 60s, right up to the 80s.
Before credit cards, they extended credit to all well-paying patrons by the owners of the grocery shops and Kopitiam (coffee shops).
Patrons and customers could pick up a tin of butter from the grocery shop.
Yes, ask your grandma about canned butter before refrigerators!
Listen to some incredible stories about making pound cakes from recycled butter time.
It was quite the norm to have your breakfast of eggs, toast, and kopi (coffee), which the Kopitiam boss will record in “555” booklets.
Uncle will “Kira” count at the end of the month, and you settle your bill.
You only “jelas” (pay) when you get your month-end salary.
The pocket-sized, no-frills notebooks are still available at some stationery shops.
So Malaysian. The model 555 notebook remains a classic, evergreen, multi-purpose personal recorder. Photo: Wilson Chew Facebook.
#7 The Malaysian Dream Book
Malaysians love to dream a lot. They dream of winning BIG.
Win BIG go makan angin (dream vacation), get that dream car, BIG condo, and have a dream lifestyle!
Which explains why they punt, gamble, and forecast numbers.
There are many forms of gambling in Malaysia. In the 60s and 70s, the chap ji kee (Hokkien for ‘twelve numbers’) was a popular simplified version of the 4-D lottery.
It was a system involving just 12 numbers.
To win, you must guess the combination of two numbers correctly.
The punters could bet the numbers vertically or horizontally. If vertical, the numbers had to come out in the stated order.
The chap ji kee’ dream’ book is a passport (B5) sized dark pink booklet.
There are two pink ‘dream’ books in existence.
The cover has the Taoist deities “Tua Pek Kong” or “Guan Ying” on it for luck and prosperity.
They divide the pages into small columns and rows with tiny pictures. Each bore a double number at the bottom.
Dream books are the punter’s handbook for references.
Most old-timers would dutifully record this with a list of supposed lucky numbers in their “555” booklet.
Malaysian oldies have this beloved dusky pink dream book for reference and keep photocopied copies of forecast game results to play numbers. Photo: Doris Lim.
Now that you know the 7 Malaysian Things You Never Knew About Malaysians, visit and stay for a while, LAH.
You’ll gYou’ll love our Malaysians.
Promise!
