Malaysia has been well known for its intoxicating mix of races and ethnic groups. Many nations have regarded have regarded Malaysia as a good example of peaceful co-existence despite the diversity in culture and race (Swee-Hock 2007). However, there are three major races in Malaysia since they comprise a high percentage of the Malaysian population. These dominant races include the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. Even though it has been believed that the Malays are the ancient natives of the land, research has found that they immigrated from the north before the 15th century. The first people to live in this land were the Orang Asli, meaning “original people” (Daniels T2005). The Chinese and Indians followed later after the British brought them in as laborers. The latter two races then liked and loved their new domicile and remained in Malaysia, where they acquired citizenship and forgot their homeland.
The Malays
They constitute 60% of Malaysia’s total population. Their names usually begin with a name starter, which is the person’s real name followed by ‘bin’, which means ‘son of’ or ‘daughter of’ and finally, the father’s name. Their official language is the Malay (Bahasa Malaysia), which almost all the Malaysian population can speak. They also speak Bahasa Jawi, which is an Arabic language (Swee-Hock 2007). Their religion is Islam and their official place of worship is the mosque. Ladies wear BAju Kurung and Baju Kebaya while men wear Baju Melayu as their traditional shirts. On Fridays when men go to the mosques, they wear Songkok on their heads.
Their traditional food include Nasi Lemak, Nasi Kandar, Nasi Mee Rojak, Mee Bandung, Roti Jala, Murtabak, Keropok Lekor, Laksam and Satay (Holst 2012). They celebrate Ramadan in the month of fasting, a period in which they only eat very early in the morning and in the evening. During this period, they ask for each other’s forgiveness and cleanse their sins.
They dislike the black and white colors since they represent sorrow in their tradition. According to their religion, they are not allowed to get close to pigs and dogs. Their praying times, which are held seven times a day are called the ‘imsak’, ‘subuh’, ‘syuruk’, ‘zohor’, ‘asar’, ‘maghrib’ and finally ‘isyak’. If a non-Muslim marries a Muslim, they must convert to the Muslim religion (Holst 2012). Their common sayings include pointing at the moon will cause shortening of the fingers, pointing at the rainbow makes you lose your fingers and if a cat jumped over a dead person, that person will sit up as a zombie.
The Indians
They are fewer compared to the Malays constituting only 15% of the total population. The name order resembles that of the Malays, but they use A/L instead of bin to mean ‘son of’. Their religion is Hinduism and worship in the Kuli (temple). Their traditional foods include Roti canai, roti telur, chapatti, Tossai, and mostly food with several spices. Their traditional shirts are Sari for the women, and Dhoti and Kurta for the men.
They celebrate the Deepvali festival, which means the festival of light. During these celebrations, they put up lights which symbolizes lighting up their inner lights to clear up the darkness that is blocking their way (Daniels 2005). This spiritual celebration is usually scented with incense and fire-crackers and union. Another celebration is the Ponggal, which means boiling over spill over and is celebrated during the harvest time in thanking the Sun God. Additionally, they do not eat meat since they value cows to provide milk when famine strikes.
The Chinese
They are a little more than the Indians constituting 20% of the Malaysian population. They use two names beginning with their surnames. Their official language is the Chinese language (Daniels 2005). They are Buddhists and Taoist and worship in temples and Pagoda. Their traditional foods are Curry mee, Fish ball noodle, char kuey teow, dim sum, Chinese tea, and moon cake. They celebrate New Year with lion dance giving ang pau with money to each other.
References:
Swee-Hock Saw (2007), The population of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Holst F. (2012), Ethnicization and Identity Construction in Malaysia: Routledge Malaysian Studies Series. United States: CRC Press.
Daniels T. P., (2005), Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia: Identity, Representation and Citizenship: East Asia: History, Politics, Sociology and Culture. London: Routledge.
