How 'truly Asia' is Malaysia exactly?

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Say what?

i am tired of this truly asia phrase. What is so asia about it. What make us a truly asian compared to the rest of asia..when we only promote high rise buildings and isolated government headquarters (putrajaya). what is so asia about that.

I think it is time they change the phrase to something far meaningful rather than misleading. I do agree that the word truly asia sounds pretty exotic, i would visualise seeing some original asian lifestyle, but we are so modern and westernised, there isnt anything asia left in it except for our skin colour and food. malaysia need to identify a positive identity and promote it well.

Bo.$$

How "finger lickin' good" is KFC exactly?

truly asia is just a commercial slogan to promote tourism in Malaysia. it's just business, cari makan saja, don't have to be exactly true

So we don't have to crack our head thinking to much about it. like a KFC, just eat it , and kenyang perut suka hati. Next time we go McDonalds pula

I agree with Spongy Robert

Bean

I'm not here to fight anyone, but I do have the right to defend myself from other people just as you defend yourself Bear.....(I had to put to sleep the Monyet he was getting too panas) Enough said on that matter.

Well, in my humble opinion "Malaysia truly Asia" is just a Malaysian Government advertising catchphrase/slogan.

How can anyone really define what is Asia, is it China? is it India? is it Indonesia? is it Japan? is it Singapore? is it Thailand? is it Vietnam? is it Malaysia? is it the Philippines? etc etc.

Well, I think that Asia is all of them countries plus more (Korea, Myanmar,Cambodia, Brunei and so on) and not any one single Asian country can claim to be truly Asia.

It's only a bunch of words to attract tourists!! I think a more politically correct slogan would be:
"Malaysia truly part of Asia" (But I guess that's not quite so catchy!)

Edit:
Peace brother :-)

Effendi R

I am in the tourism industry, and I like that catchy slogan... and in some ways it is true, you can find in Malaysia a mix of everything, plus a couple of unique things (like Sabah and Sarawak are also part of Malaysia, with their very own cultures nowhere else to be found).

Historically the Malay Peninsula and also Borneo have played an important role, sitting on major trade routes, and this has left impressions on Malaysia to-day, too.

If the government is serious in 'unity through diversity' (and: do not litter & recycle) rather than 'one race, one language, one people' Malaysia will stay 'truly Asia': a happy mix of cultures, languages, religious belief systems, foods, drinks... a great place to visit!

anderson

first of all it is just a "slogan". second, it meant by malaysia has many asia culture and races such as Chinese, Malay, Indian, Singh, Eurosian, Kadazan, Dusun, Iban and etc....

jayson

Partly true.

Well any other country in the region would claim that they are authentic asians because of the diversity and stuff. But the truth is, all of these wonderful nations ARE "asia" is a unique sense.

With more than two millenia of migration, who could claim that theirs is ONE, TRUE PAN-ASIAN NATION? Singapore is also claiming to be a cultural metling pot; and Philippines, and Thailand, and Vietnam, and Cambodia, and Laos, and Indonesia, and Myanmar...and the list goes on....

But really, Malaysians are generally friendly, and the women are sooooooooooooooo pretty and smart and might even marry a non-muslim guy!

Perfection Personified

WELL AS SOMEONE SAID BEFORE, IT'S JUST A TOURISM CAMPAIGN AND IT AINT THAT BIG OF A DEAL.. I AM A MALAYSIAN AND I AM TRULY DISGUSTED ATTHE FACT THAT THERE ARE OTHER MALAYSIANS WHO SAY THINGS LIKE " Oh dont go to China, we have chinese here....etc" but it is truly unfair to generalize and assume all Malaysians are like that...Trust me, that's probably the uneducated few..

Besides, Malaysia is a part of asia and in certain ways it's culture, it's traditions are elements that make up the whole asian identity..There is no country that could claim the whole asianity..same goes for malaysia...like i said its a freaking slogan...no one takes it seriously and other asian countries seem pleased with it..

azayi1

give me a break "thebear"
it is just a slogan mate.. (funny this simple slogan makes u
like this) haha.

well since u mention my name. if you guy refer my other comments & answer u'll know who are being so sensitive about it... it is ok for you to give comments not me huh?
well GROW UP & dont refer me being so what so call pro-racist supremacy.. BOB & BOS said it loud and clear..

by the way since when we malaysian said all what u said..
we dont say we have everything or every ethnic..

oklah.. give to thailand lah.. "Thailand truly Asia lah"

Shinou Atsumu

Oh boy. Here we go again. Debating about dear Malaysia again. I am getting a bit sick and tired of all this criticism and then having to defend our beloved nation again.

To all the foreigners who read Y!A Malaysia forum,
Please, can you just give us a break?? We know that our country is not perfect. But which nation is entirely perfect? The thing is you don't see us going to other country's forum to challenge the goverment policy of other nation, do you? All right, we know that the government is corrupted, discriminates, cheats in Election and blah blah blah. We malaysians know it and YOU KNOW IT TOO. Fine. But at the end of the day, so what? All living beings live just to survive (just like what Bo$$ said. BTW, Bo$$, I really like your answer man) so this is basically what the minorities are doing right now. Malaysia may NOT be truly Asia and like Bo$$ said, it's just part of a marketing plan. No need to vent your frustration out in an internet forum and surely no need to condemn the whole nation! I find some of the foreigners' remarks are really harsh and then can you blame other Malaysians for coming forwards? Dave Star said Malaysians in Y! A Malaysia are arrogant, rude and in self-denial-how much more when you see them in person. Are we really all that to you foreigners? Then maybe this Canadian should visit other countries more to open his eyes to the real world out there. WE ARE NOT ALL THAT (and this is not being defensive). Maybe only a proportion is a 'black sheep'. Then again, which nation doesn't have some 'black sheeps' or trouble makers as they called it, huh? And Dave, you just haven't the luck to find a 'broadminded' enough Malaysian. If you read some of my other responds, you may like to know that I'm open-minded enough. Would you like to be friends then? (I'm extending my hands of friendship to you). Contrary to what you think, not all Malaysians are narrowminded. You have to stop generalising everything and that goes to all the foreigners out there. In everywhere, there would be good and kind people and there would be some bad hats. But that is life.

To AQ,
What you said are generally true but there is one thing that really pissed me off. "Some country with a copy-paste US flag"? Oh boy, that is so "cute" and "matured" of you to say (especially in an internet forum like this).

To all other Malaysians,
My fellow Malaysians, please let us be more matured than some of the morons (from overseas) here. We do have to admit most of the things they said are true especially the parts about racism and so on. But let's just show them that we can be democratic (let them talk) and matured too (admit faults).

To Pengayap,
I have always been loyal to my country (as well as my own race). So I would suggest you to mind your words, please. Never ever been swayed before and never will. I highly advise you not to comment on somebody's integrity if you don't know that person well. Ignore facts? Who can verify the aunthencity of the facts, huh? Wiki? You? lol. Give me a break. You're the biggest bigot I ever met. So mind your mouth next time before someone 'whack you online'.

Charmed

What the hell was Butch H. talking about? gripe, gripe, gripe go away? Encik, Saya tak fahamlah. Cakap sekali lagi? lol

Anyway, Malaysia is an Asian country but we are very much being globanized slowly but surely. Our citizen still very much speaks their own mother tongue not just "bahasa Mat Salleh" ie English and our Bahasa Melayu. Our country also has Malays, Chinese, Indians etc etc. so this is also another trait of Asia.

We also have alot of variety of foods courtesy of the various type of ethnicities. That is almost the first thing that foreigners will notice and they loved it! Shopping is also a paradise with foreigners because lots of chinese stuff, indian stuff and malay stuff can still be bought.

Religion wise, we can still practise our own religions. Another trait of Asia. So, overall, we can say that Malaysia is truly Asia in a sense. Afterall, we are still primitive and conservative in our thinking by not letting anyone touching on sensitive issue but that's ok because it just means that we are a bunch of sensitive people and would not like anything else that can undermine our peace and racial harmony (or rather tolerance) that has been nurtured thus far.

Sanjeev

Hardly any

Truly the fact

Aptly used and highly exploited

Zam

Malaysia is quite unique in any way compared to other nation in SEA.

the percentage of population does not differ much from one another.

we have lots of different ethnic which resulting public holiday for so many ethics. that why is truly asia.

"Hari Raya Holiday"
"Thaipusam"
"Chinese New Year"
"Deepavali"
"Gawai"
"Wesak day"
"celebration of langkawi water festival - siamese tradition"

this shows diversity of malaysian culture & recognition of different races compared to other asian countries.

we dont see India celebrating / public holiday during CNY.
we dont see Thailand celebrating / public holiday during taipusam or gawai day.
we dont see China celebrating / public holiday during hari raya..

that's why "Malaysia Truly Asia" or let me say "malaysia uniquely asia"

Rabbityama

Although I agree with other statements that there is no such nation in Asia that can claim to be more "Asian" than any other nations, if one looks at Asia from the outside (as in, from the view of someone from a non-Asian nation), I think the nation that sticks out is China.

India has very unique culture however, when outsiders think of "Asian", they are typically referring to East Asia, not South Asia. China is a large nation, and has still retained a lot of traditional culture. Many people are also aware of the wide variety of tourist sights in China (the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, the Forbidden City, Potala Palace, etc.). China also has quite extensive history, which is appealing to many.

When considering Malaysia, I don't think most outsiders could name a single attraction! I live in America, and sadly, most Americans could not find Malaysia on a map that wasn't labeled! With China, many more people are at least aware of its location and basic information about it. I'm not saying that Malaysia has nothing worth seeing, I'm just pointing out that most people couldn't name even the most famous sights/attractions in Malaysia.

I think the slogan comes from the fact that it's a cute rhyme. "Malaysia truly Asia". It doesn't sound as nice to say "China truly Asia", "Nepal truly Asia", "Japan truly Asia", etc.

Yes, although I don't think there is any such thing as a "truly Asian" nation in comparison to other Asian nations, if I had to choose a nation, I would pick China.

Matthew

well i say they start this malaysia and asia thing is because, there is asia in the word malaysia (when u say it) and its in asia... attract tourists... thats how u do advertising! i m in a bit advertising too!

El Alguilar

I don't think so it is truly Asia. Such motto shows lack of knowledge of the "Asian ethic groups" and it has ignored a bigger chunk of what Asia truly is in terms of geographical distinctions.

Let's look at the Indians. The Indians in Malaysia do not represent the whole of Indian culture because more than 80% of "Indians" in Malaysia are actually Tamils. For Heaven's Sake, "Indians"really do not only make of SOLELY Tamils. I hate it when people in Malaysia assimilate "Tamil" exclusively to "Indian". There are so many other ethnic groups and more important ones than the Tamils in India such as the Telegus, Sindhi, Bengalis, Malayalee, Kannada etc. (ehemm.. Bengalis are NOT Punjabis.. another msiconstrued term in Malaysia). And the majority of Punjabis who have emigrated to Malaysia are of Sikh religion. While the majority Punjabis around the world are actually of Hindu faith. Read my article here at

http://www.geocities.com/fte65/indian.html

So, not all the Indians in the sub-continent are represented in Malaysian people.

The same for Chinese in Malaysia do not necessarily represent the "Far Easterners" group of Asia such as the Japanese, Koreans. In fact the Chinese community in Malaysia brought to Malaya during the colonial days limited to those from the southern provinces of China. You won't find any ancestors from XIAN or Mongolia or Tibet in Malaysia today, do you?

What about Pakistanis Malaysian, Arabic Malaysian (also Arabic is a huge pack of communities). The Iranians, Afghans??? Are they all represented and reflected in today's "Malaysian" culture? What about Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kurdish, even Armenians, Azerbaijanis??? These Asians are not present in the Malaysian culture and has never been. (except one time in the 60's they was a small group of Armenians in Penang, but all have gone to Australia).

To limit the "Asian" image to simply "malay, indian and chinese" shows absolute ignorance to the meaning of Asia and a disgrace to the world. It only mislead to what already the image of Asia to stereotypes Westerners who only think "Asian" as being someone who have the Far Eastern features i.e. yellow-skinned, almond eyes and eat with chopsticks, and would karate kick their *ss. Such a cliche.

Malaysia... GROW UP!

Manok Jantan

thebear, what's wrong with Azayi? sometimes his answers sound a bit extreme (like "respect Malaysia law") but he's a nice guy...he's just being defensive on Malay cause. and he should be. should I remind you on demographic history of Singaporn? it wasn't always a stinky island where 75% ppl speak Cockkien...used to be a Malay island. no wonder many Malays feel threatened. no offence dude.

Bonga, you have brain or not? can you read? "only Malaysians can understand"...go and complain to your kindergarden teacher about those naughty foreigners. loser!

I like Dave's answer, AQ answer also is good and fte65 who rewrote AQ's answer in his own words. Malaysia truly Asia is a stupid slogan invented to boost tourism.

some ppl simply don't get it that it's foreigners who decide. nak berbangga? go ahead, but then we'll see who still wants to come to Malaysia.

Yvonne, are you the Chinese girl who was crying so much over May 13?? that post was so unpatriotic, you neglected facts, why so patriotic now? now you realized you're a Malaysian? welcome home, sweetheart! US and Malaysia flag do have huge resemblance...

terance, go back to Singaporn before i whack you online

Pop D

Well, since Malaysia is on the Asian continent, it is 100% Asian. Just as the United States, Canada, and Mexico are on the North american continent, they are 100% American. You can find over 180 nationalities living in these countries but they are still 100% American because they are on the North American continent. To expand that, the peoples and countries of South America are also American seeing as they live on the continent of South America. It doesn't matter the religion, languages spoken, cultures lived in Malaysia, it is on the Asian continent so it is 100% Asian.

Grenade Jumper

It's because M'sia is consist of 3 main different races. Malay, Chinese and Indian. If we go to China or Hong Kong we'd only find chinese people and if we go to India we'd most likely to find only Indian. But in M'sia there's 3 different races. It's like a "three-in-one"....truly asia.

Getting all in one place....

hewyk

I would say Malaysia is 'Truly Colonial Asia' since it was created by the British.

So for that matter is Indonesia (by the Dutch).

If left on its own, I don't think we would see the multicultural mix we have today.

The Malay States would have come together and merged into a Peninsular Tanah Melayu whereas Borneo would be a single republic dominated by the indigenous people there.

Chinese, Indians and other races would have come on their own accord in small numbers and there would be small pockets of these communities particularly along the West Coast.

There probably wouldn't be a Kuala Lumpur and Melaka would be the capital.

Malaysia. Truly Colonial Asia.

KK Oz

Those of us who have visited Malaysia know that this is just a catchy slogan. Agreed there is much of Malaysia that can be found in other Asian cities or destinations but equally there is much that is not available.

I guess that it if helps in getting more tourists, it's done its job.

LaCoste

It is a catchy slogan and I am glad people talk about it asking questions because indirectly it boosts Malaysia's name. It works!

Like Thailand well-known for a 'City of angels'..it left to anyone to interpret the meaning and it works as far as the advertising/ PR is concerned!

Tyra

The comment by bloggers here speaks for itself. It manages to stir up the conversations and people still talk about it. It make people curious and wanting to know more...

Kudoz to Tourism Malaysia!

El Scorcho

Well, its part of the Asian continent, so I would say 100%.

island girl!!

ABOUT 99.9% HAHAHAHAHA

freezysyahz says no to trolls!

(smirks) Maybe you have been looking at the wrong places...if you want to witness where true Malaysians are, don't view at the people living in the cities. Go out on a limb and visit the rural areas far from civilization, and you will see things in an entirely new view from there.

AQ - ×ž×œ×’×–×”

I find this "3 in 1 policy" rather ridiculous.

Malaysia has Indians - yes, but vaste majority of them are Tamils. India is far more than just Tamil Nadu. I dare to claim that India is the most diverse country in the world. Over a thousand different languages are spoken there and although mostly Hindu, India is home to people of all religions: Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jainists, Zoroastrians, Baha'is, Jews...
And even Hinduism has so many forms in India. Tamils mostly focus on Shiva and Murugan, but there are many other fractions and traditions. Each place in India has its own traditions. So simply by having Tamils in Malaysia, one cannot experience India in Malaysia.

Malaysia has Chinese - and almost all come from SE China or Hainan. China is also a very diverse country but not as much as India. Chinese in Malaysia are ethnic Han. Besides Hans in China there are many ethnic minorities. And even among the Han, the culture of Beijing and the Culture of Hong Kong and Shanghai are totally different. Malaysian Chinese reflect the culture of Shanghai and Guangzhou. Inner China (like Xian, Chengdu...) are again different. Each place has its own dialect and own cuisine. For my personal taste, Northern Chinese cuisine tastes better. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that 1 billion people and 4000 years of tradition cannot be summarised in 7-8 million people from SE China. Therefore, one cannot experience China in Malaysia.

The third would be Malays - yes, Malays are rather unique to Malaysia. They're still simillar to Aceh Malays and to some extent to Javanese and Banjars and other Malayic people, but different. Add all the Orang Asli of Penninsula and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. They're endemic to Malaysia. If one wants to find Malays, the best place is Malaysia.

Yes, its location in Asia makes Malaysia 100% Asian. But according to that logic, there are many more countries who could use that: India, China, Japan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Thailand, Iran, Israel and others. So what makes Malaysia more Asian? Nothing. All of them are equally Asian.

Despite all Chinese and Indians here, one cannot experince the winter of Inner Mongolia and the spring full of blossoms of Manchuria or the mountains of Himalaya in Malaysia. Malaysia doesn't offer that.

What other elements make Malaysia so Asian? Should they make a motto: come to Malaysia and experience corruption of India, oppression of China and prostitution of Thailand? Luckily, at least the first two have seen decline lately. Even in those terms, Malaysia lacks compare to the respective 3 countries: they are more corrupt, more oppressive and more advanced in prostitution. LoL...

Being more safe than Indonesia, having more to offer to tourists than Singapore, being more free than Brunei, all of these has nothing to do with the slogan. And Malaysians, I have to be honest with you guys, most of foreigners, especially those from developed countries see psychotic loyalty to the government as a danger, not as a virtue, the way it is portrayed in Malaysia.

It is selfish to say that some country with a copy-paste US flag and 25 million inhabitants is truly Asia among over 3 billions. Malaysians don't even make up 1% of Asia's population, so how can they be truly Asia? Just China and India have each over 1 billion people, and when you start adding Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Iran, Myanmar etc, you'll soon realise how big is Asia and how Malaysia cannot stand for entire Asia.

Malaysia has many unique things to offer, but I wouldn't say it is "truly Asia". Dave Star is right: Malaysia is truly Malaysia.

Bonga

Foreigners cannot comprehend(not because you are dim witted) this is because it takes a Malaysian to understand it because with exp living in Malaysia.There are indonesians , Chinese , Pakistani , Indians , Malay , Nepalese , Sri Lankan , Siamist , and many more living(Most immigrant would apply for PR). All of these people cuisine can be indulged about almost every part of the city.The cultures of Orientals , Indians and Malays is celebrated Nation wide. Do you think any Asia country have these kind of things happening.

Dave Star

It's a sickening thought to say Malaysia - Truly Asia. For one, there is no basis, as Malaysia is but a tiny country in a huge Asian continent. To say, it's truly Asia is definitely misleading as other, so many other press releases that their government has said.

Let's don't go outside the forum, let's just stay inside YA for argument sake. Asians are generally peace loving and respectful of other culture. In YA Malaysia, you tell me!

The very fact that the "Malaysians" in YA Malaysia are arrogant, rude and are in self-denial, how much more when you see them face to face? Like a sheep? I don't think so. If they back stab you in YA Malaysia like they do to the Bear, how much more in real life? You tell me again.

As for myself, I had enough of this Malaysia thingy. This summer, I will go on my sabattical for 6 weeks in Asia - Tokyo, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. I might consider Indonesia, but for sure, I will totally avoid Malaysia for obvious reasons.

For those who want to meet me personally, I'll keep you posted on the exact dates that I will be in Asia ----- not in Malaysia, in Asia. I know BO$$ would want to see me huh?

BO$$, no thanks! I guess youre dreamin' again.

Anne, you said "it is truly unfair to generalize and assume all Malaysians are like that...Trust me, that's probably the uneducated few..", I would say, I think it, on a foreigner's perspective, that's it is probably the uneducated majority because I can't find a Malaysian who is broadminded enough. All but narrowminded.

You said "no one takes it seriously." Now, you're saying that Malaysian Tourism is nothing but a big joke? Thanks for the information.

Pop D, I would say I am Canadian, I am not an American. I maybe from North America, but still, I am Canadian, not American. Going back to the discussion, Malaysia is not truly Asia. It's truly Malaysia.

BO$$. Same flight to where? To Sydney? To Detroit? To Jakarta? To San Francisco? To Singapore? To Bangkok? Can't remember someone stalking to me inside the plane.

Terance, now you're saying truly Malaysian huh? I think you're cute!

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