Job Discussion Forums

[eclectic]

DO the Malaysians STARE in SHOCK with silly giggling when they see "foreigners" like the Koreans do here? It is quite annoying and is 1 of the main reasons we are laeving here--wouldnt want "out of the fry pan into the fire" with that.

[wailing_imam]

No, not in most cities. Malaysia is visited by people from all over the world and KL is something of a magnet for students from developing world countries. The Malaysians are very used to people of all colours, shapes and sizes. I do find Alor Setar a bit weird though, and Bintulu too (the foreigners the see there are foreign oil workers desperate for some nookie and a pint).

[KayuJati]

Outside the large cities, Malays will sometimes watch foreigners, discretely. These are mostly young men, who are curious. If you look back for a moment, they will generally look away. But it is not the same as the staring crowds that I experienced in China.

[eclectic]

Kayu so you got the whole "OMG! You mean there's humans on earth that look different than US??!!" hook line and sinker/soup to nuts/everything AND the kitchen sink treatement.

Sounds like my daily life here in korea.

[KayuJati]

[eclectic]

y in God's name dont they realize this is RUDE?!
BUT IF WE stared at THEM, or put OUR faces into THEIR wallets, then what, Kayu?

[Ariadne]

I come from a small town in the US where we noticed every new face, so the stares I get in China don't surprise me. Some FTs are really bothered by the staring but it doesn't bother me at all. Mostly folks are just curious and if I smile and say hello they smile back and often greet me too.

.

[eclectic]

[malu]

In Malaysia generally staring would be considered rude. In China and Korea it is not considered rude - especially if the people being stared at are foreign devils.

[Hod]

A couple of points, eclectic.

Even in touristy central KL, a lot of Indian Malaysians will stare at you wide eyed. I once enjoyed a roti tosai in Chow Kit despite the waiter standing at the head of the table to watch every mouthful. I�m sure if I asked him to go away, he would�ve just stared from the next table instead.

And before the KL fan club speak out, the locals in my wife�s family�s town in southern Penang polish binoculars and really make themselves comfortable for a Hod spotting fest when I�m there.

Secondly, why worry about it? Yes, you will get stared at in Malaysia big time. It really is the case that if you develop a don�t care attitude, the locals sense it and ignore you.

[eclectic]

[quote]despite the waiter standing at the head of the table to watch every mouthful. {q)

holy crap! that is funny, and happens to my wife and me here in Korea everytime we go to a certain Chinese resaturant. I mean the guy is really right there into every chew and every dip into the plum sauce hook line and sinker.


{q}polish binoculars and really make themselves comfortable for a Hod spotting fest when I�m there. }q}

My only queation is how the hell do you see them from binocular-distance looking at YOU? Mr. Eagle Eye.

}Q}Secondly, why worry about it? quote]

I agree in principle, but there just are times when its too much and being from a rather aggressive east coast US city where staring ALWAYS AND I MEAN AAAAAAALLLLLLLLWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYSSSSS
results in a guaranteed fight, its tough for me to make the adjustment. PLus I have OCD.

[malu]

Maybe I look very ordinary and boring but I can honestly say that, with the possible exception of small towns in Kelantan, I have not found a problem with people staring in Malaysia. I know very well what staring is like, having lived 5 years in Indo and a year in China, and Malaysia is somewhere I can go and not be stared at.

[Henry_Cowell]

I too have never been on the receiving end of stares or any other type of unwanted attention anywhere in Malaysia. Am I that ordinary??

However, I do recall the early 1970s in the outlying villages of Bali and Java, when anyone with a white face was a focus for attention. Pointing, laughing, and shouting? Most definitely. Women with blond hair were especially vulnerable to having strangers run hands through their luscious yellow locks.

Our eating habits evidently were also quite remarkable -- we actually carried on conversations and other social interactions while ingesting food. How odd and stare-worthy!

Malaysia during the same decades? Not at all.

[Sudz]

As much as I've liked living in Ho Chi Minh, the excessive staring is something that's worn on me somewhat over the years - I could see mainland China being similar. It's not just the staring, it's the subsequent dialogs directed at me (whether positive or negative....usually about looks).

My next move will be somewhere where I'm a little more anonymous My experience in Malaysia - and just about any other country I've been to in Asia - is that it's lighter in terms of this.

[isabel]