Why I Love Malaysia

I am a Filipina but Malaysia has been my home since 1993. Yes, home, complete with all the warm, fuzzy feelings that go with the word. I don’t hesitate to call Malaysia as my home, even if my PR application is still pending despite having lived here for the past 15 years, having married a Malaysian, and having borne and given birth to 5 Malaysian children.

I will always love the Philippines, the place where I was born, but I’d very much prefer to stay in Malaysia for good.

Why do I love Malaysia so much? I’ve thought about it late one night and quickly narrowed it down to three reasons:

1. Malaysia has excellent infrastructure. The roads and highways are wonderful. The world-class banking system offers all sorts of perks and services — internet banking, cash deposit machines (they don’t have them in Indonesia!), debit cards, sukuk financing, among a few. The ports are efficient — it only takes 2 to 3 days to clear a container in Port Klang versus the agonizing 10 to 14 days wait for shipments arriving at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port. True, there’s still some red tape in Malaysian government offices, but the Immigration Department can issue a passport within just an hour. How’s that for efficiency? Despite a few grouses or two, things still get done most of the time in Malaysia…yet the cost of living  remains relatively low. Singapore, for instance, may have a superior public transport system, but I wince at the cost of a food there. Everything works like Swiss clockwork in Europe but it’s too darn expensive. Thus, for me, Malaysia is the place to live in, invest in and do business in.

2. Malaysia is green. Just before reaching KLIA, you are greeted by a green carpet, which turns out to be fields of palm trees as the plane goes lower. They line the highways and the smallest kampung roads. But they’re not just in the kampung — you go into the city and you find trees, plants and flowers everywhere. KL’s City Hall a.k.a. DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur) faithfully replaces the flowers and shrubs in dividers and by the roadside and regularly prunes the trees. Then, right smack in the middle of KL, you’ll be amazed to find a forest in Bukit Nanas, where the KL Tower is located. And don’t forget KLIA, often described as “airport in the forest, forest in the airport.”

3. Malaysia has cultural and religious harmony. Ya, ya, it sounds so trite by now, after reading and hearing about it all the time. But it’s not just hype. It’s the reality. Three cultures — Malay, Chinese, Indian — under one nationality: Malaysian. Various religions — Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Hinduism — co-existing harmoniously in the same country. The result? A more tolerant society. All types of glorious food — from the Malay nasi lemak to the Indian roti canai to the Chinese char kway teow. National holidays that cover everything from Chinese New Year to Eid ul Fitr to Thaipusam to Christmas Day. Chinese customers maintaining Islamic bank accounts, a Malay nasyid group with an Islamic song in Mandarin, Indian and Chinese ladies wearing baju kurung to the office. It’s amazing. It’s refreshing. It’s something that most Malaysians may have taken for granted.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to wait patiently for my PR application to be approved. I’ll continue to queue in the ‘Foreigners’ queue at the Immigration Counter in the airport, while the rest of my family goes to the much shorter queue for Malaysians (although, when travelling with my family, most Immigration officers are kind enough to allow me to tumpang my passport with the rest of my family). And I will explain patiently to the Filipino Immigration officer at NAIA that I am the mother of the children who are with me, and not their yaya (nanny)!

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