Malaysia - Truely Asia

A foray into the meaning of Malaysia

Malaysia - Truely Asia

Not so long ago, somewhere deep in the Malay peninsula, a group of pot-bellied bespectacled gentlemen met. They sat around a big conference table with their big cigars, sipping on their big coffees, having a big old talk. They squabbled; they shouted; and they screamed. Their faces went red and their toupees slipped from the sweat; all in the name of one question; "What in the name of God can be Malaysia's catch phrase?" An entire factory of imported donuts were eaten, pens were gnawed to the nib, and heads scratched to bleeding point, before an eventual quiet descended upon this steamy collective of perspirng beaurocrats. The question had been answered.

"Malaysia. Truely Asia."

And if I had been at this fictional but very real meeting, I would probably have asked the question, "What? How, good Sirs, can one country be Asia?"

But now I am beginning to understand.

You see, when we first arrived in Malaysia several months ago, we were presented with Langkawi and George Town; two (arguably) nice places. But they were not what I would summarise as Asia. Langkawi was pretty and clean, with crisp (if occasionally grotty) sands, and a lazy sundrenched vibe. But that was it. Okay, there was a reasonable rice museum, and you could get Nasi Goreng, but a crop does not make a country. In fact, 50% of the population of this island seemed to be European.

And so I thought to myself, maybe I am being a little harsh. Langkawi is a tourist destination. It's a postcard place. A brochure destination. Of course it's going to feel slightly less Asian in its presence (whatever that is). Maybe George Town will be different.

But again, I was confused. How could my fictional bureaucrats chomp on their cigars and satisfactorily go home when the phrase they proudly tout was ignorant of this famed island? It was, in my opinion, pretty far from Asia. Its buildings were white and pristine, its architecture Colonial, and its very name testament to the British influence. Even Fort Cornwallis, it's central pride was constructed by Thomas Light, an East Indian Trading mogul with a penchant for cultural integration.

But then it struck me. Perhaps this is the point? Perhaps this is what I, a mere traveller has been overlooking.?These bureaucrats can see something I couldn't - and it was to do with the very thing I was to criticize Langkawi for - integration.

I'm sitting here right now, in my slightly dingy room, in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, having recently left Singapore. And do you know where my hostel is? In the middle of China town. And where was it in the last city? Little India. And what is Melaka famous for? Being one of the most multicultural port towns in Malaysia.

And I think that is the point the bureaucrats in my brain are making. "Malaysia - truely Asia". The phrase is not a definitve article on what Asia is as an individual thing. It is an all-encompassing ethos embodying how incestuous Asia is on all levels. In Kuala Lumpur, in the shadow of the petronas towers, Indians talk to Chinese, Mosques stand next to Christian churches, and food splices between east and west. On the island of Borneo indiginous tribes still practice traditional arts and crafts, whilst on Langkawi the German expats can blister beneath the sun and drink cheap, tax-free beer.

And so I guess this is what makes Malaysia so beautiful. It truely is what 1930's America would have dubbed a melting pot, both in terms of heat and in terms of culture.

Malaysia is truely Asia.

Imaginary bureaucrats; I salute you.