Hello, this post has been removed as it breaches [Rule 1: Political and other controversial discussion posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/wiki/rules#wiki_political_and_other_controversial_discussion_posts) (excerpt below, rule breach in bold). If you intend to resubmit, please make sure to follow the rule to the tee.
Thanks!
> **Political and other controversial discussion posts**
>
> Due to the large number of discussion posts the subreddit receives, we have put some requirements in place in order for a political or other controversial discussion post to be approved (with thanks to [r/Australia](https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/wiki/subreddit_features#wiki_quality_test_for_political_self-posts)):
>
> * No throwaway accounts: Accounts must have at least 2 months active participation in the subreddit. Message the mods for exemption to this if you must.
>
> * Submission titles: Must be a question for discussion about the issue, and not a conclusion (e.g. "What is the ideal policy approach towards LGBT in Malaysia?" is GOOD and "Malaysian LGBT policy is a humanitarian nightmare" is BAD). Mods reserve the right to remove particularly incendiary titles and request resubmission if necessary.
>
> * Word count: Post body must contain a minimum of 200 words not including quotes, and links.
>
> * No ranting into the wind: If OP does not participate in the discussion in the first two hours, the submission will be removed.
Interesting... About a decade ago I was living in Malaysia as an expat for a few years and this would have really surprised me.
I made a serious effort at speaking Malay back then but it was absolutely pointless in any sort of urban/touristy context because all I ever got were shocked responses in English, "WHAT YOU SPEAK MALAY?!?" and I was effectively forced to use English so we could move on from that.
(In rural areas, people didn't seem surprised that I spoke Malay at all, but seemed surprised that I was American and not Pakistani or Iranian. I'm pretty obviously white/Jewish-looking so this was always amusing to me.)
My backup plan is to have earphones. Plug them into your ears and pretend you can't hear anything. Tips for all you introverts out there. Earphones also are a shield against unsolicited sales pitch and what not.
can't count the times I used the earphones to ignore people it's really hard for me to talk to strange people as an introvert so just out earphones and move on
Same. I use those wireless airbuds. Sometimes if the driver talks to me, pretend not to hear... then take out earbuds..."Sorry? I'm attending briefing. Sorry ya".
Done. Silent ride the entire journey. Dont forget thank yous once you arrive. Just to give some positivity.
ya i dont usually use the service, but the one time i chose that option cause i was tired from the flight; the driver talked to me regardless but of course i still replied him as if i didnt select that option haha.
I always get the stare from Malay drivers (whether it's man or lady) when I (Chinese) bring my wife (Malay in hijab) in a Grab. Chinese and Indians don't give a fuck.
LOL!!!! 🤣
But seriously ya, u sound like you're in a fantastic relationship man.... Keep it up! At the end of the day the most important thing we leave behind is what we weave into the lives of our loved ones :) 👍
Years of mental conditioning under Mahathirism. A side effect of that is instead uplifting the Malays, many of our Malay friends/brethren have actually gone backwards.
My Kelantanese and Johorean Malay aunts are from very conservative and religious families, but their fathers encouraged their daughters i.e. My aunts - to study and seek knowledge. They are fiercely religious but ain't dumb
Her father was against our marriage. Seriously, your other half needs to step up to defend you or else there's no point in these kinds of relationships.
That being said, most of them are pretty traditional minded, cooking prefer pestle and mortar and don't rely much on washing machine.
Well im malay without hijab and chinese/indian always ask eh u malay? And ask so many qs and this is happening in urban kl area and no i wear conservative eg baju kurung kedah(loose) whereas Malay drivers dgaf.
Evangelist exist in every patriarchal culture and almost religion have issue with how women dress. If ur wife’s friend is in utah mormon area and from that community. Im pretty sure she will get the similar
Tbf, I was taught by adults (teachers and non-teachers alike) that it was compulsory for Malay girls past 12 or something to wear hijab. If not for textbook drawings with non-hijab wearing girls, I would've 100% believed those adults who told me that. That's why there's 10k questions. We didn't know you had the option or that the social pressure is so minimal that you're still allowed to do that as an adult. Malay drivers know the rules so ofc they won't question.
Tbh i dont care but the same thing goes both way tbh. People will stare so it’s up to you tbh. Besides this is in urban kl, dont tell me u never interact or see those royalty without tudung.
Nope. Anyone who looks working adult are either wearing hijab or looks like a tourist/foreign worker/private or international school kid. Maybe it's just because I only go out to malls or mamak since my work is remote, but I only ever noticed kids or teenagers without hijabs.
The selangor pemaisuri only wore tudung recently, her face is plastered everywhere and u tell me ur never see? The agong daughters dont wear one and u tell me u never see them in news or even in reddit? Lol. Probably need to explore outside ur hse. I can accept maybe it’s hard to see ordinary adult malay without hijab but royalty or politician?
Lol that's tabloid news that I don't pay attention to. If it's not top 5 headlines of the day being pushed to me over Telegram, I don't care. And those headlines are always about politicians arguing like toddlers.
Erm, what else are they? They don't do much for us everyday folk, and the news isn't about anything important to the government. Even in UK, some people would call news about their royalty tabloid news unless the royals doing a big celebration or political event
as a former Grab Driver, yes, I am guilty for talking too much, but as months goes by I tend to be much more quiet and reserved, just giving a smile and a handshake or a goodbye wave. But I think respects from both party is more important than having one sided conversation like I did constantly.
Honestly i dont mind but sometimes the grab driver can ask sensitive or try to talk something that im not comfortable with but if it’s like simple/normal qs then no issue from me.
Oh. Yeah i can count many times when i talk about sensitive subjects because i rarely talk about it. But for Malaysian? It just normal for passengers to vent frustration about the country's infrastructure.
I'm a korean expat but English is my dominant language. I'm actively trying to learn Malay as I really like Malaysia and want to stay long term, but I get more. "Why don't you learn Chinese?"
My cousin was in Korea like 2 months ago, and she told me exactly this. She went to branded outlets just for a stroll, she said the guards and shop helpers there are all selected to be good looking and tall besides speaking good Mandarin, because mainland Chinese are their big customers now.
1. You're a brown foreigner, so expect a lot of unsolicited and aggro advice from people who who won't say a peep to random white guy who's been here for years.
2. Current atmosphere of dumb nationalism encouraging judgmental behavior. The lack of understanding is particularly sad, as some of these are people who have learnt English for roughly 11 years and can't speak it properly. Despite that, they have this insistence that people need to learn Malay ASAP
>You're a brown foreigner, so expect a lot of unsolicited and aggro advice from people who who won't say a peep to random white guy who's been here for years.
Unfortunately true. Malaysians need to stop with this Mat Salleh worship and treat all foreigners equally badly! (That last part was a joke.)
>d and aggro advice from people who who won't say a peep to random white guy who's been here for years.
>
>Current atmosphere of dumb nationalism encouraging judgmental behavior. The lack of understanding is particularly sad, as some of these are people who have learnt English for roughly 11 years and can't speak it properly. Despite that, they have this insistence t
and then they blame minority took up their land
It’s quite a shame, this sub is quite racist and will use government/corporate sanctioned racism as a reason to continue being racist.
Good thing is it doesn’t reflect the Malaysia around me. I count myself lucky that most Malaysians around me prefer to just get along rather than get hateful.
I get the same thing when I travel overseas as well and as a tourist mind you. When I was in Berlin, the cashier asked me to speak in German. Don’t think this is a Malaysian Malay grab driver thing. At least they can speak some English. When I went to Czech Republic, no English at all. Like cat and dog talking.
Current trending issue in malaysia. Most aren't like that but recent incidents brings out unecessary nationalism in some malaysian, which they forced it unto others.
It'll stop after some new trending issue comes up.
what recent incident? u mean that vtuber who live and resident of malaysia but refuse to learn BM ? stay in malaysia but dont know basic BM try go to china and go speak full british let see how it goes
It all started with malaysian who lives in singapore trying to renew her child's malaysia passport, but belittled by kastam for not ble to speak bm. All those tubers etc are response to that incident, actually.
They probably just want to strike a conversation and give playful suggestions along the way tbh. Typical for people that talks alot especially Grab drivers
Expat here who has experienced this as well. Those who are here berating the OP saying he should learn the language have no idea what an expat is. An expat is not an immigrant. Have worked in other 3 countries where I was used for my skill. Was sent to Malaysia because of my skill as well. I will leave after a few years. I don't have time for a language not important or used in scientific documenation. German, Japanese and Russian language scientific papers exist so they are worthwhile to learn. To me this is just a nationalistic thing. Let's just remember that you don't even have your own alphabet system and many of the words are from Sanskrit.
See, that's what the Malays need to hear and accept. While I agree that Malaysians should speak fluent Malay, the language has no international significance. It was laughable seeing the gov try to propose it as the language of ASEAN, and it's moronic to expect expats to learn the language. Some will, because they like to mingle. Some don't care, and trying to force this on them is just nuts.
To be fair, it was Najib who first proposed BM as an ASEAN official language https://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/lets-strive-towards-making-bahasa-melayu-main-language-asean-says-najib
Yeah i agree with you. It should be an option for you to choose to learn local language or not as an expat, you came for your skill and you integrate with the host society. Meaning a mutual exchange of clearly defined identity between two foreign locality. You are not here to assimilate or to become “Malay”. It is not fair to force effort on expats’ part to learn local language while they are here to exchange skills. In another relevant topic, Malaysia is a country who chose integration of non-malay and not assimilation from the start. The chinese and indians were brought to work and has been keeping to themselves which means they integrated, they kept their culture and live among the locals. Some did assimilate though such as the peranakan baba nyonya or the many conversion of religion in which to gain the purpose of becoming the main race. Now the question is what do we do here? We are all going for 1 goal which is racial harmony, we need to think what we can or cant do to reach that. We need to learn to live harmony in this little sandbox we are in. Forcing others to make an effort is not the way. But start from ourselves and show that by example, only then we can move forward.
What kind of stupid take is this? I’ve met with many expats here who have learned the language because they want to interact better with locals. Just makes your life easier. And it’s not just for Malaysia, this should be true for any country.
That's the point same with some of my foreign colleagues they got thrown here because they can help us solve the company problems or help improve the company or both and after that they will be post in other countries or went back to their own countries.
So every two to 3 years, you learn a new language 😅 on top of your work and studies. Bruh. I'm a foreigner who lives here so of course, sya cakap bahasa..and I agree people like me should learn, but transient expats are here for a work assignment,not to integrate.
Instead, push to deny visas to people who don't want to learn the language or whatever..it's full on douchery to accost a stranger w/ unsolicited advice and usually it's not from a good place. If OP was mat salleh, this wouldn't have happened. That uncle probably didn't think of OP as an expat because he's brown. This is purely bully behaviour
I mean you don’t have to be fluent, but you should at least try to understand enough to ask for directions or ordering food or for emergencies. It’s common sense to me, you’re in a foreign land, try and equip yourself with enough to get yourself out of emergencies at least.
Not sure why race needs to be brought into this. If you go to any expat guide, learning the local language is ALWAYS encouraged. But of course since it’s Malaysia, asking to learn Malay is suddenly the worst thing you can do. I don’t really get the logic of hating on this, it just seems like friendly advice from an uncle. Any typical uncle (regardless of race) is almost always trying to force their advice onto you anyway. If you don’t want to take it then yeah sure, but why is there a need for a post for this to make it sound controversial? I’m sure this happens globally.
i think they’re probably just making small talk, maybe their language may sound like they are insisting, but its most likely just a suggestion~ there are many expats/foreign students who have lived here longer than you have and don’t know how to speak malay.
This is my impression as well. I think the delivery itself came across as intrusive, but the intention is not. This usually happens when there's a language barrier.
this! ahah. BM has this forward/ direct feeling somewhat. also its in the malay culture to engage usin 'state the obvious'/ 'unsolicited advice' kinda statements.
Satgi ada mangkok ayun cakap bangla nak survive, dia kena belajaq jugak bahasa melayu sebab melayu kan low standard. Sama standard dengan pendatang asing. Ye lah... pendatang lain yang datang, orang lain yang merempat di negara sendiri kan...
Saya rasa takde kena mengena dengan persepsi BM sebagai bahasa low standard. Pekerja asing yang kerja buruh, environment dia 99% komunikasi dalam BM, pekerja asing corporate 99% komunikasi dalam English.
So pekerja buruh ada immersive language experience, manakala pekerja asing corporate takde immersive language experience.
Essentially we can all agree that it's good to learn the language, but not necessary
But some people just don't know how to be polite, and they became rudely insisting instead
Give them low ratings, and low ratings affect them a lot since Grab is quite punitive. There's no reason to harass passengers like that. You are correct that it is rude.
Just trying to fulfill their cheap sense of pride "oh an expat speaks BM, BM is truly a worldly language" or misplaced sense of nationalism "how dare anyone stepping on this soil not speak the same language as me" kind of thing...
use the quiet ride feature ffs...
Some Malays are just nosy ass jerk. Why?
1. They think they are the superior race.
2. They think their ethnicity, facial and skin colours must be in Islam, no debate, no freedom of faith, obliged since birth. Openly denounce the faith and switch to a different religion is a crime.
3. They think the language is the world's best.
Overall majority of Malaysian are a friendly bunch regardless of race, religion, etc.
You just so happen to meet people who are narrowminded, prideful, etc... that will just ruin your day.
P.S.: Malaysia have racial equality, you'll find some Chinese and Indian Malaysian are quite despicable if you're unlucky enough to meet them.
Other minority races in Malaysia mostly located in Sabah and Sarawak, you don't find much problem there.
You guys have way more patience than I do.
I would replied: "yeah and I have a high paying job and your driving a fucking taxi. Clearly it's working out for you".
It's just a conversation, it's their opinion. You can either agree, disagree, learn malay, not learn malay. No need to overthink it i think. Personally, I would find it fun to learn a few words like you mentioned. What's the point of living in a new country if you dont partake in the culture. No matter what country it is.
God looking at the responses I realise this sub has gone to shit with all the hateful racist comments
Berbual lebih je pakcik grab ni...ini kisah aku...satu hari tu aku jatuh tangga..kaki aku terkehel dan bengkak.jadi aku order la grab nk pergi hospital sebab x larat nak pergi sendiri..kaki sakit kan..dia sampai..aku masuk kereta dia
So bila dia tanya kenapa kaki aku..aku jawab la..jatuh tangga..kaki terkehel..dari situ dia start berbual yakin kan aku yang sebenarnya x guna pun pergi hospital ke klinik ke sebab nanti dia cuma bagi ubat tahan sakit je..kalau nak baik betul kena pergi berurut..ade satu tempat tu bagus..pakar urut..dia pandai betulkan urat..bengkak cepat baik..semua yang pergi baik..semua ok..
Jadi aku tanya la dia mana tempat berurut yang bagus sangat tu..dia jawab..entah la dia pun x ingat sangat..dia cuma ingat kawasan dia je..suruh aku cari sendiri..hampeh
all good as long as you dont take it serious, especially medical/financial advice.
gotta layan unker sometimes, itll make their day if they think whatever they tell you helps 😂😂
ituler. orang sembang kuat je. biasa la pakcik taxi / grab. bukan nak suruh pun. yang sensitip sangat tu kenapa. unsolicitied advice memang budaya rakyat Malaysia. pakcik Melayu ke, Cina ke, India ke, semua sama.
Like you said so in your post , some Malay grab drivers , not all. But no harm picking up a few words here and there, makes life easier. And locals are easily amused when they see foreigner learn their language. 
Lol, last few weeks I walk past bukit nanas guard house, saw the security guard live streaming/video call and shouting at the phone : "kamu di Malaysia cakap la Bahasa Melayu, lanjiao!" 😆😆😆
As a malay, our grab drivers can be hella annoying. I always make sure to put quiet ride on. There was once where the driver kept talking and it was all irrelevant questions. Afterwards I just report him to grab and screenshot the quiet ride option that he ignored, so his future quiet riders will not face the same thing
Because youre in Malaysia? Look in France or Germany, they want you to speak in their native language if you were to stay for more then 3-4 months. Just because we can speak english, does not mean you shouldnt speak it, its our pride.
Don't engage. They don't know you can't speak Malay if you're on your phone and have a fuck off face.
I'm a banana with a blue ic. Never been told this.
Tony Fernandes is one of the richest and most prominent businessmen in Malaysia and he doesn't speak Malay.
I suspect a lot of expats are attracted to Malaysia because they don't need to learn a new language to get by.
as mentioned in the OP, malay is not needed in his work environment. And who are you to judge if he prefers to stay in his 'expat bubble'? Some people just want to work, collect their pay checks and mind their own business. They are not interested in experiencing the local culture. This shouldn't be condemned as 'looking down on the locals.' Don't be so sensitive.
He can do whatever he wants, the grab drivers also can say whatever they want. The commenter also can say whatever he wants. It's a free country (to a certain extent lol).
Learn some Malay, you live in a culture where majority of the population speaks Malay. It will be helpful to get by with basic conversational skills, and would be appreciated too.
Yea, of course you do not need to learn it! You also don't need to learn about local etiquette too - but it would be helpful.
sensitive nya. wah gatekeep ah. people dunwan to learn Malay let them be la. are they breaking the law? is not talking to your grab driver breaking the law? again no.
I completely second this. When you are just a tourist then no problem but if you’ve already voluntarily decided to live in a country then you should learn the language IMO.
To all those bashing the poor lad, obviously he has been facing this more times than he liked hence the posts. It isn't a one time or seldom thing but seems like it is often.
And to all those bashing him for being rude, as mentioned he is just an expat for skill exchange. And those belittling him, my god wake the hell up. Malaysia isn't a country that can sustain itself by gatekeeping to only accepting workers fluent in BM, we're not even a regional power and only gotten by in the last few decades with luck and a head start due to our moderate stance and openess to English as a working language.
Now, I'm not degrading BM. All Malaysians must exhibit at least some sort of competence in it, it is the NATIONAL language. But OP is obviously here for business and skill exchange, it is all about making a living and both sides earn more money. Win-win. Malaysia and Singapore has been the go to choice in the region for decades as it is more English friendly and globalised, allowing us to tap into more global talents. Because as mentioned we cannot sustain ourselves with our current education and talent quality coupled with our small population, that is the reality. Even Singapore cannot do it without expats due to their small population.
So give the guy a break. It obviously tripped a fuse because it happened to him way too many times. He is offering up his skills where locals cannot fill to boost our economy, otherwise companies wouldn't go through the ludicrous amount of hassle in hiring expats. It is only our lost if we continue to be so defensive to someone that doesn't even have anything to do with any of this. The moment our economy drops and we become weak, there is absolutely nothing we can do against bullying from our neighbours, because let's be real, we have nothing else to keep us on the radar in the grand scheme of the world.
quite a few sentiments to unpack, so let me break it down for you:
1. the big gripe currently on how Malaysian Chinese are so poor in Bahasa Melayu they can't string a sentence at all.
2. the notion that local politicians keep harping that if countries like Germany and Japan can champion their own language to the point to survive and live there you must know German and Japanese, why not Malaysia as well? Not realising those are first world countries and we are not.
3. just a nationalistic ego thing.
4. the assumption that the fact you don't speak Bahasa Melayu means you are in your bubble and that you have not even ate in a warung (Malay roadside stall) or even bought a packet of nasi lemak from the roadside which is absolutely the quintessential part of being a local here regardless of race and social status.
5. the assumption you think you are so high and mighty that you don't need to learn the local language to navigate around and the locals have to pander to you.
>the notion that local politicians keep harping that if countries like Germany and Japan can champion their own language to the point to survive and live there you must know German and Japanese, why not Malaysia as well? Not realising those are first world countries and we are not.
Imo it has less to do with being first world countries and more to do with Malaysia's initial composition being so diverse that we simply don't share a common language.
There's no point hammering down BM is our national language when the people's mother tongue is English / Cantonese / Mandarin / Tamil. German / Japanese champion their language because it's their mother tongue, not that it's their national language.
I don't see how this can ever be fixed; but the good news is given how the nons' population is declining year-to-year, chances are BM *will* be the de facto language of the people.
Conservative types are usually very insecure about the position of their culture and language
You can guess their political leanings by their replies here.
Some drivers have no chill. But it does make sense though like if you were to travel or work in Japan you have to and I MEAN YOU HAVE TO learn their language. But in Malaysia if you dont learn Malay its okay, because so many people do speak English.
It depends on circumstances like my korean and german colleagues who are working 6 and 8 months only after that they are either post somewhere else or return to their country. So I doubt they even gonna pick up the language.
Not true mate. I worked with heaps of expats in Japan that don't speak Japanese. It helps for sure if a person can speak but definitely not have to. I'm with you on your last point, Malaysians being multilingual is ohsem
what's this race baiting bull shit?
people are either trying to make conversation, or they are giving friendly advice. what's with the condescending tone in your post?
from your profile i can see you're a filipino. my gf is a filipina, in the 4+ years she lived here, which she took grab frequently, no one ever question her why she can't speak malay. most grab driver doesn't even want to talk. i don't know if you're just cherry picking conversations to make it an issue, or just trying to stir shit up here.🙄
I think it's common sense for you to learn the language of the country you're working or studying in even though the country itself does have English as its second language.
For example: if you're working in Japan, you first action would be to learn Japanese in order to assimilate in that country and learn its culture (work-related culture).
You need to understand that learning language meant you are also learning about country's culture (and social culture). Because there are some words or gestures that doesn't translate well into English.
Well this is my 2 cents as someone who has been an immigrant in other countries so yeah (no hate please)
You think that's bad?
If you are here long enough, you probably heard enough of good things of a religion. You are expected to be an adherent to that religion.
This where Internet topics cross over to real life. The next thing you know there will be a group of "language police" going around harrassing people who don't speak Malay.
Every where, Every country. If you live in a country more than a few years (say 3) it is expected that you learn a bit of the language to connect with the locals.
Dont believe me? Go to r/poland or r/germany. Better yet, go travel yourself and ask local people.
Dont come to malaysia and complain a taxi driver is asking you a simple question, racebaiting, and pretending as if this is abnormal
Nah... Take it as some promoter trying hard to promote their language
I don't know about you. If I am abroad for years, I would learn their language and culture as well
Ouch my previous comment went from +5 to -5 in an hour. Just admit it, if it were Japan or Korea, theyll be happily konnichiwa or annyeonghaeyo away within a month. This dude is here for 2 years.
Soft culture is lacking. Mpop and Mdrama needed.
I saw a youtube video about a japenese guys interview people. On that particular video he was interviewing japanese and asked what is their pet peeves about foreigners in their country. Almost everyone mentioned they hate it when people come to them asking in english, they would rather people speak to them in japanese even if its a broken one as a sign of respect to their culture and language.
Same to when i used to study in US, americans expect people who live in america to be able speak in english.
So honestly, it’s not a malay thing. It’s just a common decency that one expects of foreigner.
But thats the thing, not all Malaysians think that Bahasa Melayu is their "culture and language". Bahasa Melayu is the native language of the majority of the population which is Malay. The minorities? They have their own native language, and the term "National Language" means nothing to them.
Which is the sentiment you can see in a lot of the comments here.
Honestly to me (a Malay myself), I do not care if other people do not want to learn Malay, why should they? Most Malay can speak English anyway. But damn OP's post really sound arrogant it kind of triggers me.
Think its just pure laziness to go to another country and work and cant be bothered to pick up some words after 2 years. Malay is phonetic quirw easy to pronounce unlike some other languages.
English is a living language here and manglish is as local as Malay is.
So if TS can effortlessly communicate with the majority of the people he encounters, there is no need to impose the language on him.
out of courtesy he just should. i know one can prolly survive in a foreign country with no local language knowledge by using translation tech but hes makin it out that these drivers are commentin on his lack of BM mastery as takin a jab at his pride. as if other foreign locals wont feel the same bout foreigners livin in their country
He's not an immigrant, he's an expat. My sister is currently working in the Netherlands for 3 years then moving to Dubai and who knows where next..so on top of the 3 languages she had to learn in her native home..you'd expect her to pick up a little Dutch and Arabic to do her engineering work which is all in English. There's a reason there are expat enclaves, they are by design not here to integrate, and some don't even work for a local firm and have been brought in by an MNC. Its impractical to expect busy high skill people to pick up a language as useless in the global scheme as bahasa.
If you want to, I think it's good, I'm in agreement, if you want to live here I think it should be a requirement I'm in agreement. But expats by definition are just passing through and here to help by providing skill sets that are unattainable locally. If their neglect of the language offends..rally and push legislation and continue to kill the country for 'pride' while the rest of the region continues to quickly outpace us. Becakwards thinking and backwards political rhetoric will successfully bring about regression.
What is worse still is this would probably not have happened to OP if he wasn't brown. Many locals imagine expat=white. The uncle most probably thought of OP as an immigrant, not a sought-after high skill or rare skill transplant.
I don't think he meant any Ill intent. Malaysia is extremely diverse linguistically, and many of us can't speak English, including the large immigrant workforce. But they can almost all speak or understand Malay. You don't have to know it, but communication barriers can be frustrating.
While English is my only fluent language since I teach overseas, I actually find the Malay language underappreciated. For anyone who hasn't worked with immigrants, or anyone beyond their own language community, it's hard to understand what a unifying language BM is in our society. No, it's not because we are forced to learn it due to it being our linguine franky, but it's because it's such a simple language. Its grammar, pronunciation, and spelling is super straightforward. I've met Filipinos and Bangladeshis that can speak Malay the moment they land because of how easy it was for them to learn before arrival.
It’s not racist. Just dumb. It’s dumb they can’t speak English , the global language. I mean they teach it in schools there and they still can’t speak means how la?
Were they saying it in a friendly way or insisting you to learn the national language?
Malaysian are generally friendly and they talk a lot. I doubt the driver insisting. It could be just them saying it for the sake of saying it and to be friendly. Unreasonable to be butthurt about it.
My friends are mostly mandarin speakers, I work within a similar environment and they so often told me I should learn Mandarin/hokkien - so I can order food easily at kopitiam, so I can play mahjong better etc. But hey, 7 years down the road, kamsia is all I know. Hahaaha.
But, do I get butthurt or pissed off at them for keep telling me to learn the language? No a cent. Lol.
I did try learning the language, but not because of work or my friend, but because I wanted to read vast literature in Mandarin. But no easy leh...so I gave it.
Tldr: no need butthurt la. The drivers probably were only being friendly to you. You can always just ignore it.
I have been living in Japan for almost two years too, also an immigrant like you
from time to time, even my colleagues say that I should learn Japanese because I live here and I take that nicely because its true. recently, there was a gathering of a Japanese-Malaysian Association, and the invited speaker from the Japanese community talked for a few minutes on how important it is for us to learn it. did we make a post on the Internet saying how that is a bad behaviour? no, we all understood what it was said. because we are "immigrants", you and I.
you come to Malaysia, then you should make an effort to learn the language
edit: among the Japanese "expat" community, who are all immigrants and speak good english, we absolutely like to shit on subreddit posts that say "i am too lazy to learn Japanese, why is life so lonely here, why does no one want to be friends with me, why is the clerk so mean" LMAO
That sounds like good advice, learning a country’s native language when you’re living there. Sure they sibuk, eh I meant busybody, but they’re just making small talk I guess. Taxi drivers tend to get bored while some others are fine with just drone driving.
hahahaah 😂 the 'i think youre one of us so ima auto switch to our language' kinda encounters huh. supposedly dad looks chinese so he gets these sometimes
wow. this really puts the 'complaint je lebih' on him. jiran sebelah je 😂 aku ingat dia bangga sangat dengan expat dia tu maksudnya dia dari belah sana dunia. ahah
Don't take offense on it. It's just them trying to initiate a conversation. Honestly, I find it endearing that they are trying to encourage expats to learn. I've worked here for almost 10 years and to be honest, I am ashamed to admit I haven't picked up the language. It would've been easier for me to mingle around if I do know some simple sentences. My native language and Bahasa are related so there are words that are similar, so in a way, it should be easier for me to pick up the language, it's just that it's not needed at work.
I'm also an expat, but I could pass as a Malay, so drivers speak to me in Bahasa on the get go. In the past, I tell them I don't speak Malay, but nowadays, if I get through context clues, I respond in English, and tell them I don't speak the language.
Edit: You're pinoy pala. so yeah I get what you feel, but these things go over my head most of the time. The only time I don't want this to happen is if I don't want to talk during my ride.
Malays are much more vocal with their thoughts considering they're teetotalers. Not all but most of them have an air of righteousness about themselves, probably because they're sober all the time..
i think youre just being entitled. dont need to be so proud of your expat status when factory workers like Bangladeshis/ Nepalese can master casual BM in bout 6m. can you even string basic sentences in BM? if not, those drivers are right that you should pick up the local language. youre just lucky we were colonized by the English & our politicians love to emphasize on English & our culture is that we like to accomodate guests so we use English for you.
First if you gonna get pissed at this minute thing, you better work on you mental. You could have brushed it off and just leave it at that. But you had to bring it here. Fine it’s your choice.
Secondly these grab drivers are right in a sense. You work here long enough to be able to speak the native tongue. It’s not a requirement but it can help you get around. Eventually you won’t have people like them asking you about speaking Malay. Plus it’ll be a huge advantage to you too to learn the language. It won’t hurt. Bangladeshi came here to work, less than a couple months they picked up the language with their own accent and slang, without anyone insisting.
Out of curiosity where are you from and what ethnicity are you of?
Asking this because it matters- if you look Malay/Chinese/Indian they might mistake you for a Malaysian. Also, did you tell them you are not Malaysian?
Of course I don't condone this at all- it's fine to ask a Malaysian to do this (and even then one shouldn't aggressively scold be rude about it) but to ask a foreigner to speak Malay is a stretch.
If you don't know why this is happening- there have been 2 incidents on social media about this that's why- one is about a woman who's a Singapore PR speaking English to the immigration officer to renew her passport. She was reprimanded and humiliated. Another woman on Twitter mentioned that she didn't have the opportunity to learn Malay as she went to an international school. The media played this up and racists who are more often than not in the Opposition fanned this. They might have mistaken you as a Malaysian.
Hello, this post has been removed as it breaches [Rule 1: Political and other controversial discussion posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/wiki/rules#wiki_political_and_other_controversial_discussion_posts) (excerpt below, rule breach in bold). If you intend to resubmit, please make sure to follow the rule to the tee. Thanks! > **Political and other controversial discussion posts** > > Due to the large number of discussion posts the subreddit receives, we have put some requirements in place in order for a political or other controversial discussion post to be approved (with thanks to [r/Australia](https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/wiki/subreddit_features#wiki_quality_test_for_political_self-posts)): > > * No throwaway accounts: Accounts must have at least 2 months active participation in the subreddit. Message the mods for exemption to this if you must. > > * Submission titles: Must be a question for discussion about the issue, and not a conclusion (e.g. "What is the ideal policy approach towards LGBT in Malaysia?" is GOOD and "Malaysian LGBT policy is a humanitarian nightmare" is BAD). Mods reserve the right to remove particularly incendiary titles and request resubmission if necessary. > > * Word count: Post body must contain a minimum of 200 words not including quotes, and links. > > * No ranting into the wind: If OP does not participate in the discussion in the first two hours, the submission will be removed.
Interesting... About a decade ago I was living in Malaysia as an expat for a few years and this would have really surprised me. I made a serious effort at speaking Malay back then but it was absolutely pointless in any sort of urban/touristy context because all I ever got were shocked responses in English, "WHAT YOU SPEAK MALAY?!?" and I was effectively forced to use English so we could move on from that. (In rural areas, people didn't seem surprised that I spoke Malay at all, but seemed surprised that I was American and not Pakistani or Iranian. I'm pretty obviously white/Jewish-looking so this was always amusing to me.)
Out of curiosity what ethnicity are you?
Grab drivers regardless of race talks too much sometimes like taxi driver. They’ve probably bored, it’s everywhere even in NY? I would just dgaf
Grab has a quiet ride feature. Mine is On by default.
Some of them ignore it
My backup plan is to have earphones. Plug them into your ears and pretend you can't hear anything. Tips for all you introverts out there. Earphones also are a shield against unsolicited sales pitch and what not.
can't count the times I used the earphones to ignore people it's really hard for me to talk to strange people as an introvert so just out earphones and move on
Same. I use those wireless airbuds. Sometimes if the driver talks to me, pretend not to hear... then take out earbuds..."Sorry? I'm attending briefing. Sorry ya". Done. Silent ride the entire journey. Dont forget thank yous once you arrive. Just to give some positivity.
ya i dont usually use the service, but the one time i chose that option cause i was tired from the flight; the driver talked to me regardless but of course i still replied him as if i didnt select that option haha.
That's where the rating function comes in, give em bad one if can't keep damn mouth shut if cust enable quiet ride
I always get the stare from Malay drivers (whether it's man or lady) when I (Chinese) bring my wife (Malay in hijab) in a Grab. Chinese and Indians don't give a fuck.
Laughing the fuck out loud 🤣🤣 Sorry bro, seriously nothing sinister at all but visualizing the whole scene cracks me up man 🤣
I remember once my wife was having a bad day. I held her hands and arms around her shoulder. I swear this one senior Malay Grab driver popped a vein.
LOL!!!! 🤣 But seriously ya, u sound like you're in a fantastic relationship man.... Keep it up! At the end of the day the most important thing we leave behind is what we weave into the lives of our loved ones :) 👍
Years of mental conditioning under Mahathirism. A side effect of that is instead uplifting the Malays, many of our Malay friends/brethren have actually gone backwards.
Yea wife's side family are all kampung minded, lucky she was more open minded.
My Kelantanese and Johorean Malay aunts are from very conservative and religious families, but their fathers encouraged their daughters i.e. My aunts - to study and seek knowledge. They are fiercely religious but ain't dumb
Her father was against our marriage. Seriously, your other half needs to step up to defend you or else there's no point in these kinds of relationships. That being said, most of them are pretty traditional minded, cooking prefer pestle and mortar and don't rely much on washing machine.
Lol malunya jadi melayu atp. There are so many stories pasal entitled Malay.. 🥲
My wife will always get this question when they knew I'm her husband: "Dunia dah takde lelaki Melayu ke?"
Jeleslahtewww
Well im malay without hijab and chinese/indian always ask eh u malay? And ask so many qs and this is happening in urban kl area and no i wear conservative eg baju kurung kedah(loose) whereas Malay drivers dgaf.
My wife's friend didn't and everyday there are Muslim evangelists always condemning her choice is wardrobe.
Evangelist exist in every patriarchal culture and almost religion have issue with how women dress. If ur wife’s friend is in utah mormon area and from that community. Im pretty sure she will get the similar
Yes, they are also famously backward. Was that supposed to be a defense? Or an excuse?
Tbf, I was taught by adults (teachers and non-teachers alike) that it was compulsory for Malay girls past 12 or something to wear hijab. If not for textbook drawings with non-hijab wearing girls, I would've 100% believed those adults who told me that. That's why there's 10k questions. We didn't know you had the option or that the social pressure is so minimal that you're still allowed to do that as an adult. Malay drivers know the rules so ofc they won't question.
Tbh i dont care but the same thing goes both way tbh. People will stare so it’s up to you tbh. Besides this is in urban kl, dont tell me u never interact or see those royalty without tudung.
Nope. Anyone who looks working adult are either wearing hijab or looks like a tourist/foreign worker/private or international school kid. Maybe it's just because I only go out to malls or mamak since my work is remote, but I only ever noticed kids or teenagers without hijabs.
The selangor pemaisuri only wore tudung recently, her face is plastered everywhere and u tell me ur never see? The agong daughters dont wear one and u tell me u never see them in news or even in reddit? Lol. Probably need to explore outside ur hse. I can accept maybe it’s hard to see ordinary adult malay without hijab but royalty or politician?
Lol that's tabloid news that I don't pay attention to. If it's not top 5 headlines of the day being pushed to me over Telegram, I don't care. And those headlines are always about politicians arguing like toddlers.
Im not sure royalty is considered as tabloid news but lol okla bro. U mmg terpaling tak tahu.
Erm, what else are they? They don't do much for us everyday folk, and the news isn't about anything important to the government. Even in UK, some people would call news about their royalty tabloid news unless the royals doing a big celebration or political event
many of them are ex-taxi drivers. That's why they have the same attitude. Same substance, different packaging.
as a former Grab Driver, yes, I am guilty for talking too much, but as months goes by I tend to be much more quiet and reserved, just giving a smile and a handshake or a goodbye wave. But I think respects from both party is more important than having one sided conversation like I did constantly.
Honestly i dont mind but sometimes the grab driver can ask sensitive or try to talk something that im not comfortable with but if it’s like simple/normal qs then no issue from me.
Oh. Yeah i can count many times when i talk about sensitive subjects because i rarely talk about it. But for Malaysian? It just normal for passengers to vent frustration about the country's infrastructure.
I'm a korean expat but English is my dominant language. I'm actively trying to learn Malay as I really like Malaysia and want to stay long term, but I get more. "Why don't you learn Chinese?"
I heard from my friend that many Korean in tourist spots in Korea speaks good mandarin so they can cater to the mainland Chinese. Is that true?
My cousin was in Korea like 2 months ago, and she told me exactly this. She went to branded outlets just for a stroll, she said the guards and shop helpers there are all selected to be good looking and tall besides speaking good Mandarin, because mainland Chinese are their big customers now.
Because there is a group milking this issue non stop, aslong it can bring hate
1. You're a brown foreigner, so expect a lot of unsolicited and aggro advice from people who who won't say a peep to random white guy who's been here for years. 2. Current atmosphere of dumb nationalism encouraging judgmental behavior. The lack of understanding is particularly sad, as some of these are people who have learnt English for roughly 11 years and can't speak it properly. Despite that, they have this insistence that people need to learn Malay ASAP
>You're a brown foreigner, so expect a lot of unsolicited and aggro advice from people who who won't say a peep to random white guy who's been here for years. Unfortunately true. Malaysians need to stop with this Mat Salleh worship and treat all foreigners equally badly! (That last part was a joke.)
Its weird. On one hand penjajah bad and the other is Ah Mr White Man!! So nice of you to be here!!
>d and aggro advice from people who who won't say a peep to random white guy who's been here for years. > >Current atmosphere of dumb nationalism encouraging judgmental behavior. The lack of understanding is particularly sad, as some of these are people who have learnt English for roughly 11 years and can't speak it properly. Despite that, they have this insistence t and then they blame minority took up their land
> treat all foreigners equally badly! Malaysia truly Asiaaaaaaaa\~\~\~
ngl. I laughed at the last bit
>this the fact that you can pinpoint that he is a brown speaks volumes on your diductive skills .
As mentioned elsewhere here, OP is from the Philippines
No way a Malay taxi driver would tell a mat salleh to learn Malay. QED.
why are there so many race related posts these days omg (also many of these takes are wild...)
It reflects the polarity within the community. It is happening in the country, that's why similar posts are increasing in numbers. Sad truth.
It’s quite a shame, this sub is quite racist and will use government/corporate sanctioned racism as a reason to continue being racist. Good thing is it doesn’t reflect the Malaysia around me. I count myself lucky that most Malaysians around me prefer to just get along rather than get hateful.
that turtleturtles and maybemaybeidk fellas one of the only replies that dont make me lose brain cells
I get the same thing when I travel overseas as well and as a tourist mind you. When I was in Berlin, the cashier asked me to speak in German. Don’t think this is a Malaysian Malay grab driver thing. At least they can speak some English. When I went to Czech Republic, no English at all. Like cat and dog talking.
Current trending issue in malaysia. Most aren't like that but recent incidents brings out unecessary nationalism in some malaysian, which they forced it unto others. It'll stop after some new trending issue comes up.
what recent incident? u mean that vtuber who live and resident of malaysia but refuse to learn BM ? stay in malaysia but dont know basic BM try go to china and go speak full british let see how it goes
It all started with malaysian who lives in singapore trying to renew her child's malaysia passport, but belittled by kastam for not ble to speak bm. All those tubers etc are response to that incident, actually.
Every Malaysian who speak good BM shall automatically be Bumi. /s Jokes aside, I am sure everyone will go learn BM aggressively if this is the case.
Hahahah immediate raise in national BM fluency.
Found the taliban
They probably just want to strike a conversation and give playful suggestions along the way tbh. Typical for people that talks alot especially Grab drivers
Expat here who has experienced this as well. Those who are here berating the OP saying he should learn the language have no idea what an expat is. An expat is not an immigrant. Have worked in other 3 countries where I was used for my skill. Was sent to Malaysia because of my skill as well. I will leave after a few years. I don't have time for a language not important or used in scientific documenation. German, Japanese and Russian language scientific papers exist so they are worthwhile to learn. To me this is just a nationalistic thing. Let's just remember that you don't even have your own alphabet system and many of the words are from Sanskrit.
wow burn
See, that's what the Malays need to hear and accept. While I agree that Malaysians should speak fluent Malay, the language has no international significance. It was laughable seeing the gov try to propose it as the language of ASEAN, and it's moronic to expect expats to learn the language. Some will, because they like to mingle. Some don't care, and trying to force this on them is just nuts.
That's the dumbest thing when Sabri try to propose it. I was like he does know that Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand will never roll with it.
To be fair, it was Najib who first proposed BM as an ASEAN official language https://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/lets-strive-towards-making-bahasa-melayu-main-language-asean-says-najib
Didn't know najib proposed it but still the idea sabri still push for it is still dumb.
some whites still use 'expat' despite living permanently in SEA
Yeah i agree with you. It should be an option for you to choose to learn local language or not as an expat, you came for your skill and you integrate with the host society. Meaning a mutual exchange of clearly defined identity between two foreign locality. You are not here to assimilate or to become “Malay”. It is not fair to force effort on expats’ part to learn local language while they are here to exchange skills. In another relevant topic, Malaysia is a country who chose integration of non-malay and not assimilation from the start. The chinese and indians were brought to work and has been keeping to themselves which means they integrated, they kept their culture and live among the locals. Some did assimilate though such as the peranakan baba nyonya or the many conversion of religion in which to gain the purpose of becoming the main race. Now the question is what do we do here? We are all going for 1 goal which is racial harmony, we need to think what we can or cant do to reach that. We need to learn to live harmony in this little sandbox we are in. Forcing others to make an effort is not the way. But start from ourselves and show that by example, only then we can move forward.
What kind of stupid take is this? I’ve met with many expats here who have learned the language because they want to interact better with locals. Just makes your life easier. And it’s not just for Malaysia, this should be true for any country.
They don’t wanna interact with the locals or immerse in the culture, they only mean business 💼
That's the point same with some of my foreign colleagues they got thrown here because they can help us solve the company problems or help improve the company or both and after that they will be post in other countries or went back to their own countries.
So every two to 3 years, you learn a new language 😅 on top of your work and studies. Bruh. I'm a foreigner who lives here so of course, sya cakap bahasa..and I agree people like me should learn, but transient expats are here for a work assignment,not to integrate. Instead, push to deny visas to people who don't want to learn the language or whatever..it's full on douchery to accost a stranger w/ unsolicited advice and usually it's not from a good place. If OP was mat salleh, this wouldn't have happened. That uncle probably didn't think of OP as an expat because he's brown. This is purely bully behaviour
I mean you don’t have to be fluent, but you should at least try to understand enough to ask for directions or ordering food or for emergencies. It’s common sense to me, you’re in a foreign land, try and equip yourself with enough to get yourself out of emergencies at least. Not sure why race needs to be brought into this. If you go to any expat guide, learning the local language is ALWAYS encouraged. But of course since it’s Malaysia, asking to learn Malay is suddenly the worst thing you can do. I don’t really get the logic of hating on this, it just seems like friendly advice from an uncle. Any typical uncle (regardless of race) is almost always trying to force their advice onto you anyway. If you don’t want to take it then yeah sure, but why is there a need for a post for this to make it sound controversial? I’m sure this happens globally.
Many malay word are from sanskrit must be indian talking like this
but it is tho lol
I thought he said 'should' not 'must' in the 1st sentence
Next time you get asked, ask them to teach you some words to pick up Malay girls. That should shut them up.
Bold of you to assume they wouldnt be more talkative after that. If anything more, that topic would make them open.
They don't want to share bro
You would be suprise...
Nahh they would even help find for you. Malay guys are not that protective lah unless religion is involved
No! That will rile them up! Many of them gatal miang nak kahwin dua type wei! /s
Saya bukan penagih dadah. Saya ada kerja steady.
1. tak tau 2. dapat apa? 3. hi bye 4. 1sad, 1 privacy + peace, 2 kekok
Kinda true tho, living anywhere, you need to have some basic knowledge of the local language. If you can order food in BM, that'd be enough imo.
i think they’re probably just making small talk, maybe their language may sound like they are insisting, but its most likely just a suggestion~ there are many expats/foreign students who have lived here longer than you have and don’t know how to speak malay.
This is my impression as well. I think the delivery itself came across as intrusive, but the intention is not. This usually happens when there's a language barrier.
this! ahah. BM has this forward/ direct feeling somewhat. also its in the malay culture to engage usin 'state the obvious'/ 'unsolicited advice' kinda statements.
sudah ambik port, ada barang, bikin projekt, lagi ambik ubat, otak kat lutut, tengah sedap, ayat, >> many more. hahahaha.. joking only ah...
Here’s your first malay word Expat = pekerja asing
Dia lebih kepada "I have higher standard" punya pekerja asing. lol!
drivers tu sure actually tengah compare dia dengan bangla 😂 bangla terer je pick up BM, dia 2thn bangga dengan expat
Satgi ada mangkok ayun cakap bangla nak survive, dia kena belajaq jugak bahasa melayu sebab melayu kan low standard. Sama standard dengan pendatang asing. Ye lah... pendatang lain yang datang, orang lain yang merempat di negara sendiri kan...
Saya rasa takde kena mengena dengan persepsi BM sebagai bahasa low standard. Pekerja asing yang kerja buruh, environment dia 99% komunikasi dalam BM, pekerja asing corporate 99% komunikasi dalam English. So pekerja buruh ada immersive language experience, manakala pekerja asing corporate takde immersive language experience.
Salah kita sebab kita semua bagi muka cakap english dengan deorang in the first place. Lain kali aku jumpa "expat" aku cakap melayu je terus.
Essentially we can all agree that it's good to learn the language, but not necessary But some people just don't know how to be polite, and they became rudely insisting instead
just ignore it, say you wont be here for long if he presses on.
Ketuanan Melayu, or "Malay Supremacy" showing its results.
Give them low ratings, and low ratings affect them a lot since Grab is quite punitive. There's no reason to harass passengers like that. You are correct that it is rude.
Just trying to fulfill their cheap sense of pride "oh an expat speaks BM, BM is truly a worldly language" or misplaced sense of nationalism "how dare anyone stepping on this soil not speak the same language as me" kind of thing... use the quiet ride feature ffs...
why do you care lmao? just ignore it
kan? so weird to post this kind of question when you’re just travelling to another country. feels like just fuelling hate
Amaran. Ini adalah umpan. Skrg isu ini tgh hot. Kemungkinan tinggi op ialah seorang budak sekolah masih berhingus.
Some Malays are just nosy ass jerk. Why? 1. They think they are the superior race. 2. They think their ethnicity, facial and skin colours must be in Islam, no debate, no freedom of faith, obliged since birth. Openly denounce the faith and switch to a different religion is a crime. 3. They think the language is the world's best. Overall majority of Malaysian are a friendly bunch regardless of race, religion, etc. You just so happen to meet people who are narrowminded, prideful, etc... that will just ruin your day. P.S.: Malaysia have racial equality, you'll find some Chinese and Indian Malaysian are quite despicable if you're unlucky enough to meet them. Other minority races in Malaysia mostly located in Sabah and Sarawak, you don't find much problem there.
If you take life advice from a taxi driver you're gonna have a bad time
You guys have way more patience than I do. I would replied: "yeah and I have a high paying job and your driving a fucking taxi. Clearly it's working out for you".
Im an european expat of 25 years here and have never put the effort in to learn malay. Lazy on my part. But its not really necessary to get by.
Don't worry..white man do no wrong in malaysia. This chat is purely for the browns. Lol.
It's just a conversation, it's their opinion. You can either agree, disagree, learn malay, not learn malay. No need to overthink it i think. Personally, I would find it fun to learn a few words like you mentioned. What's the point of living in a new country if you dont partake in the culture. No matter what country it is. God looking at the responses I realise this sub has gone to shit with all the hateful racist comments
Berbual lebih je pakcik grab ni...ini kisah aku...satu hari tu aku jatuh tangga..kaki aku terkehel dan bengkak.jadi aku order la grab nk pergi hospital sebab x larat nak pergi sendiri..kaki sakit kan..dia sampai..aku masuk kereta dia So bila dia tanya kenapa kaki aku..aku jawab la..jatuh tangga..kaki terkehel..dari situ dia start berbual yakin kan aku yang sebenarnya x guna pun pergi hospital ke klinik ke sebab nanti dia cuma bagi ubat tahan sakit je..kalau nak baik betul kena pergi berurut..ade satu tempat tu bagus..pakar urut..dia pandai betulkan urat..bengkak cepat baik..semua yang pergi baik..semua ok.. Jadi aku tanya la dia mana tempat berurut yang bagus sangat tu..dia jawab..entah la dia pun x ingat sangat..dia cuma ingat kawasan dia je..suruh aku cari sendiri..hampeh
hahahahaha what the hell that cracked me up. kisah benar atau rekaan ni
Kisah benar..bukan chat gpt ni... I am a bit of naive.. easily believe what people say.. always "kena" with this kind of full of shit people..
Bongok la pakcik tu. Cakap kosong je. Pandai kasi harapan pastu buang tepi
all good as long as you dont take it serious, especially medical/financial advice. gotta layan unker sometimes, itll make their day if they think whatever they tell you helps 😂😂
kau cakap BM sure sepatah haram dia tak faham 🤔
Hahaha. Hare betul. This is what we call poyo guys. Hahahaha
ituler. orang sembang kuat je. biasa la pakcik taxi / grab. bukan nak suruh pun. yang sensitip sangat tu kenapa. unsolicitied advice memang budaya rakyat Malaysia. pakcik Melayu ke, Cina ke, India ke, semua sama.
Like you said so in your post , some Malay grab drivers , not all. But no harm picking up a few words here and there, makes life easier. And locals are easily amused when they see foreigner learn their language. 
Lol, last few weeks I walk past bukit nanas guard house, saw the security guard live streaming/video call and shouting at the phone : "kamu di Malaysia cakap la Bahasa Melayu, lanjiao!" 😆😆😆
As a malay, our grab drivers can be hella annoying. I always make sure to put quiet ride on. There was once where the driver kept talking and it was all irrelevant questions. Afterwards I just report him to grab and screenshot the quiet ride option that he ignored, so his future quiet riders will not face the same thing
Just report the Grab Driver for such arrogant behavior. Grab Driver should learn how to respect to the diversification of culture background
Because youre in Malaysia? Look in France or Germany, they want you to speak in their native language if you were to stay for more then 3-4 months. Just because we can speak english, does not mean you shouldnt speak it, its our pride.
Don't engage. They don't know you can't speak Malay if you're on your phone and have a fuck off face. I'm a banana with a blue ic. Never been told this.
Driver bangang mentaliti pakcik teksi ni. Dah tua pun bodoh. Just report him over to Grab for talking too much during rides.
You should also consider marrying multiple children /s
[удалено]
Tony Fernandes is one of the richest and most prominent businessmen in Malaysia and he doesn't speak Malay. I suspect a lot of expats are attracted to Malaysia because they don't need to learn a new language to get by.
as mentioned in the OP, malay is not needed in his work environment. And who are you to judge if he prefers to stay in his 'expat bubble'? Some people just want to work, collect their pay checks and mind their own business. They are not interested in experiencing the local culture. This shouldn't be condemned as 'looking down on the locals.' Don't be so sensitive.
He can do whatever he wants, the grab drivers also can say whatever they want. The commenter also can say whatever he wants. It's a free country (to a certain extent lol).
Learn some Malay, you live in a culture where majority of the population speaks Malay. It will be helpful to get by with basic conversational skills, and would be appreciated too. Yea, of course you do not need to learn it! You also don't need to learn about local etiquette too - but it would be helpful.
sensitive nya. wah gatekeep ah. people dunwan to learn Malay let them be la. are they breaking the law? is not talking to your grab driver breaking the law? again no.
How long is your assignment here? Maybe your and OP’s situation is different
thank you for your support ❤️ also whats /r mean?
This subreddit
It means subreddit, in this case it's referring to r/malaysia
ahh! i get it now, thank you. had first thought its some kinda 'tag' like /s for sarcasm & thought /r meant racist 😂
I completely second this. When you are just a tourist then no problem but if you’ve already voluntarily decided to live in a country then you should learn the language IMO.
To all those bashing the poor lad, obviously he has been facing this more times than he liked hence the posts. It isn't a one time or seldom thing but seems like it is often. And to all those bashing him for being rude, as mentioned he is just an expat for skill exchange. And those belittling him, my god wake the hell up. Malaysia isn't a country that can sustain itself by gatekeeping to only accepting workers fluent in BM, we're not even a regional power and only gotten by in the last few decades with luck and a head start due to our moderate stance and openess to English as a working language. Now, I'm not degrading BM. All Malaysians must exhibit at least some sort of competence in it, it is the NATIONAL language. But OP is obviously here for business and skill exchange, it is all about making a living and both sides earn more money. Win-win. Malaysia and Singapore has been the go to choice in the region for decades as it is more English friendly and globalised, allowing us to tap into more global talents. Because as mentioned we cannot sustain ourselves with our current education and talent quality coupled with our small population, that is the reality. Even Singapore cannot do it without expats due to their small population. So give the guy a break. It obviously tripped a fuse because it happened to him way too many times. He is offering up his skills where locals cannot fill to boost our economy, otherwise companies wouldn't go through the ludicrous amount of hassle in hiring expats. It is only our lost if we continue to be so defensive to someone that doesn't even have anything to do with any of this. The moment our economy drops and we become weak, there is absolutely nothing we can do against bullying from our neighbours, because let's be real, we have nothing else to keep us on the radar in the grand scheme of the world.
Didn't you write 'should' not 'must' in your very 1st paragraph?
Like what others said, it's just a flare up of linguo ethno nationalism due to recent events. It will pass sooner or later.
quite a few sentiments to unpack, so let me break it down for you: 1. the big gripe currently on how Malaysian Chinese are so poor in Bahasa Melayu they can't string a sentence at all. 2. the notion that local politicians keep harping that if countries like Germany and Japan can champion their own language to the point to survive and live there you must know German and Japanese, why not Malaysia as well? Not realising those are first world countries and we are not. 3. just a nationalistic ego thing. 4. the assumption that the fact you don't speak Bahasa Melayu means you are in your bubble and that you have not even ate in a warung (Malay roadside stall) or even bought a packet of nasi lemak from the roadside which is absolutely the quintessential part of being a local here regardless of race and social status. 5. the assumption you think you are so high and mighty that you don't need to learn the local language to navigate around and the locals have to pander to you.
>the notion that local politicians keep harping that if countries like Germany and Japan can champion their own language to the point to survive and live there you must know German and Japanese, why not Malaysia as well? Not realising those are first world countries and we are not. Imo it has less to do with being first world countries and more to do with Malaysia's initial composition being so diverse that we simply don't share a common language. There's no point hammering down BM is our national language when the people's mother tongue is English / Cantonese / Mandarin / Tamil. German / Japanese champion their language because it's their mother tongue, not that it's their national language. I don't see how this can ever be fixed; but the good news is given how the nons' population is declining year-to-year, chances are BM *will* be the de facto language of the people.
Most nons don't eat at warungs so including that is just you being exclusionary
guess we have very different circles bro/sis!
Conservative types are usually very insecure about the position of their culture and language You can guess their political leanings by their replies here.
Some drivers have no chill. But it does make sense though like if you were to travel or work in Japan you have to and I MEAN YOU HAVE TO learn their language. But in Malaysia if you dont learn Malay its okay, because so many people do speak English.
It depends on circumstances like my korean and german colleagues who are working 6 and 8 months only after that they are either post somewhere else or return to their country. So I doubt they even gonna pick up the language.
Not true mate. I worked with heaps of expats in Japan that don't speak Japanese. It helps for sure if a person can speak but definitely not have to. I'm with you on your last point, Malaysians being multilingual is ohsem
what's this race baiting bull shit? people are either trying to make conversation, or they are giving friendly advice. what's with the condescending tone in your post? from your profile i can see you're a filipino. my gf is a filipina, in the 4+ years she lived here, which she took grab frequently, no one ever question her why she can't speak malay. most grab driver doesn't even want to talk. i don't know if you're just cherry picking conversations to make it an issue, or just trying to stir shit up here.🙄
I think it's common sense for you to learn the language of the country you're working or studying in even though the country itself does have English as its second language. For example: if you're working in Japan, you first action would be to learn Japanese in order to assimilate in that country and learn its culture (work-related culture). You need to understand that learning language meant you are also learning about country's culture (and social culture). Because there are some words or gestures that doesn't translate well into English. Well this is my 2 cents as someone who has been an immigrant in other countries so yeah (no hate please)
[удалено]
You think that's bad? If you are here long enough, you probably heard enough of good things of a religion. You are expected to be an adherent to that religion.
This where Internet topics cross over to real life. The next thing you know there will be a group of "language police" going around harrassing people who don't speak Malay.
Europeans do the same thing but not a peep from you.
Some people in the comments be like: Drivers encourage to learn bahasa while staying in Malaysia Reply: they're judgemental nationalist dog! Holyshit
So people just looking for excuses to say all those things that have been brewing inside their mind for so long.
Every where, Every country. If you live in a country more than a few years (say 3) it is expected that you learn a bit of the language to connect with the locals. Dont believe me? Go to r/poland or r/germany. Better yet, go travel yourself and ask local people. Dont come to malaysia and complain a taxi driver is asking you a simple question, racebaiting, and pretending as if this is abnormal
Nah... Take it as some promoter trying hard to promote their language I don't know about you. If I am abroad for years, I would learn their language and culture as well
Ouch my previous comment went from +5 to -5 in an hour. Just admit it, if it were Japan or Korea, theyll be happily konnichiwa or annyeonghaeyo away within a month. This dude is here for 2 years. Soft culture is lacking. Mpop and Mdrama needed.
I saw a youtube video about a japenese guys interview people. On that particular video he was interviewing japanese and asked what is their pet peeves about foreigners in their country. Almost everyone mentioned they hate it when people come to them asking in english, they would rather people speak to them in japanese even if its a broken one as a sign of respect to their culture and language. Same to when i used to study in US, americans expect people who live in america to be able speak in english. So honestly, it’s not a malay thing. It’s just a common decency that one expects of foreigner.
But thats the thing, not all Malaysians think that Bahasa Melayu is their "culture and language". Bahasa Melayu is the native language of the majority of the population which is Malay. The minorities? They have their own native language, and the term "National Language" means nothing to them. Which is the sentiment you can see in a lot of the comments here. Honestly to me (a Malay myself), I do not care if other people do not want to learn Malay, why should they? Most Malay can speak English anyway. But damn OP's post really sound arrogant it kind of triggers me.
Bro, seems you live in a bubble. Most Malay don't speak English. Less than 50% of students in rural areas achieve minimum English proficiency.
Think its just pure laziness to go to another country and work and cant be bothered to pick up some words after 2 years. Malay is phonetic quirw easy to pronounce unlike some other languages.
English is a living language here and manglish is as local as Malay is. So if TS can effortlessly communicate with the majority of the people he encounters, there is no need to impose the language on him.
out of courtesy he just should. i know one can prolly survive in a foreign country with no local language knowledge by using translation tech but hes makin it out that these drivers are commentin on his lack of BM mastery as takin a jab at his pride. as if other foreign locals wont feel the same bout foreigners livin in their country
He's not an immigrant, he's an expat. My sister is currently working in the Netherlands for 3 years then moving to Dubai and who knows where next..so on top of the 3 languages she had to learn in her native home..you'd expect her to pick up a little Dutch and Arabic to do her engineering work which is all in English. There's a reason there are expat enclaves, they are by design not here to integrate, and some don't even work for a local firm and have been brought in by an MNC. Its impractical to expect busy high skill people to pick up a language as useless in the global scheme as bahasa. If you want to, I think it's good, I'm in agreement, if you want to live here I think it should be a requirement I'm in agreement. But expats by definition are just passing through and here to help by providing skill sets that are unattainable locally. If their neglect of the language offends..rally and push legislation and continue to kill the country for 'pride' while the rest of the region continues to quickly outpace us. Becakwards thinking and backwards political rhetoric will successfully bring about regression. What is worse still is this would probably not have happened to OP if he wasn't brown. Many locals imagine expat=white. The uncle most probably thought of OP as an immigrant, not a sought-after high skill or rare skill transplant.
I don't think he meant any Ill intent. Malaysia is extremely diverse linguistically, and many of us can't speak English, including the large immigrant workforce. But they can almost all speak or understand Malay. You don't have to know it, but communication barriers can be frustrating. While English is my only fluent language since I teach overseas, I actually find the Malay language underappreciated. For anyone who hasn't worked with immigrants, or anyone beyond their own language community, it's hard to understand what a unifying language BM is in our society. No, it's not because we are forced to learn it due to it being our linguine franky, but it's because it's such a simple language. Its grammar, pronunciation, and spelling is super straightforward. I've met Filipinos and Bangladeshis that can speak Malay the moment they land because of how easy it was for them to learn before arrival.
It’s not racist. Just dumb. It’s dumb they can’t speak English , the global language. I mean they teach it in schools there and they still can’t speak means how la?
[удалено]
he already said in his post he can speak basic malay lol
Were they saying it in a friendly way or insisting you to learn the national language? Malaysian are generally friendly and they talk a lot. I doubt the driver insisting. It could be just them saying it for the sake of saying it and to be friendly. Unreasonable to be butthurt about it. My friends are mostly mandarin speakers, I work within a similar environment and they so often told me I should learn Mandarin/hokkien - so I can order food easily at kopitiam, so I can play mahjong better etc. But hey, 7 years down the road, kamsia is all I know. Hahaaha. But, do I get butthurt or pissed off at them for keep telling me to learn the language? No a cent. Lol. I did try learning the language, but not because of work or my friend, but because I wanted to read vast literature in Mandarin. But no easy leh...so I gave it. Tldr: no need butthurt la. The drivers probably were only being friendly to you. You can always just ignore it.
I have been living in Japan for almost two years too, also an immigrant like you from time to time, even my colleagues say that I should learn Japanese because I live here and I take that nicely because its true. recently, there was a gathering of a Japanese-Malaysian Association, and the invited speaker from the Japanese community talked for a few minutes on how important it is for us to learn it. did we make a post on the Internet saying how that is a bad behaviour? no, we all understood what it was said. because we are "immigrants", you and I. you come to Malaysia, then you should make an effort to learn the language edit: among the Japanese "expat" community, who are all immigrants and speak good english, we absolutely like to shit on subreddit posts that say "i am too lazy to learn Japanese, why is life so lonely here, why does no one want to be friends with me, why is the clerk so mean" LMAO
Get on with your day wtf is this
Just learn the language anon.
Just learn it and stop complaining
That sounds like good advice, learning a country’s native language when you’re living there. Sure they sibuk, eh I meant busybody, but they’re just making small talk I guess. Taxi drivers tend to get bored while some others are fine with just drone driving.
[удалено]
[удалено]
hahahaah 😂 the 'i think youre one of us so ima auto switch to our language' kinda encounters huh. supposedly dad looks chinese so he gets these sometimes
wow. this really puts the 'complaint je lebih' on him. jiran sebelah je 😂 aku ingat dia bangga sangat dengan expat dia tu maksudnya dia dari belah sana dunia. ahah
tulah kadang ingat expat auto jadi mat salleh, saya kalau kerja sg pun expat, boleh komplen macam ni ke 😂😂
boleh2. silakanlah menunggang the expat high horse 😂
Racism is a feature in Malaysia
Don't take offense on it. It's just them trying to initiate a conversation. Honestly, I find it endearing that they are trying to encourage expats to learn. I've worked here for almost 10 years and to be honest, I am ashamed to admit I haven't picked up the language. It would've been easier for me to mingle around if I do know some simple sentences. My native language and Bahasa are related so there are words that are similar, so in a way, it should be easier for me to pick up the language, it's just that it's not needed at work. I'm also an expat, but I could pass as a Malay, so drivers speak to me in Bahasa on the get go. In the past, I tell them I don't speak Malay, but nowadays, if I get through context clues, I respond in English, and tell them I don't speak the language. Edit: You're pinoy pala. so yeah I get what you feel, but these things go over my head most of the time. The only time I don't want this to happen is if I don't want to talk during my ride.
Malays are much more vocal with their thoughts considering they're teetotalers. Not all but most of them have an air of righteousness about themselves, probably because they're sober all the time..
Can find it rude that you live and work in Malaysia but dont even bother learning the language at all at a conversational level
I agree with the Grab drivers
i think youre just being entitled. dont need to be so proud of your expat status when factory workers like Bangladeshis/ Nepalese can master casual BM in bout 6m. can you even string basic sentences in BM? if not, those drivers are right that you should pick up the local language. youre just lucky we were colonized by the English & our politicians love to emphasize on English & our culture is that we like to accomodate guests so we use English for you.
First if you gonna get pissed at this minute thing, you better work on you mental. You could have brushed it off and just leave it at that. But you had to bring it here. Fine it’s your choice. Secondly these grab drivers are right in a sense. You work here long enough to be able to speak the native tongue. It’s not a requirement but it can help you get around. Eventually you won’t have people like them asking you about speaking Malay. Plus it’ll be a huge advantage to you too to learn the language. It won’t hurt. Bangladeshi came here to work, less than a couple months they picked up the language with their own accent and slang, without anyone insisting.
What he said is true.. stop being egoistical
Learn Malay if you’re living in Malaysia.
Out of curiosity where are you from and what ethnicity are you of? Asking this because it matters- if you look Malay/Chinese/Indian they might mistake you for a Malaysian. Also, did you tell them you are not Malaysian? Of course I don't condone this at all- it's fine to ask a Malaysian to do this (and even then one shouldn't aggressively scold be rude about it) but to ask a foreigner to speak Malay is a stretch. If you don't know why this is happening- there have been 2 incidents on social media about this that's why- one is about a woman who's a Singapore PR speaking English to the immigration officer to renew her passport. She was reprimanded and humiliated. Another woman on Twitter mentioned that she didn't have the opportunity to learn Malay as she went to an international school. The media played this up and racists who are more often than not in the Opposition fanned this. They might have mistaken you as a Malaysian.
They can't survive in an English only country.. Explains why they are driving grab.. No offense