December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A walk through Chinatown and Little India.
This country is not sure what to make of itself. It's named for the Malays who make up almost two thirds of the population, run the government, and benefit from many favourable policies offering preferential access to everything from furniture prices to loans to entrepreneurship. The Chinese are in large part the economic engine of the country and pay most of the taxes (making them true patriots, according to the current president) despite making up less than a third of the population. The Indians don't enjoy the relative benefits of either position but form an integral part of the economy and cultural landscape nonetheless .
The relationship is a practiced but uneasy one. The three groups work together and shop together but maintain separate school systems and more often than not live in separate neighbourhoods. The tension is apparent and the situation is complex. Everyone has an opinion. No one is neutral.
What does it mean to be Malaysian but not Malay?
Unravelling this culture, these cultures, the best place to start seemed to be the heart of the city where Chinatown and Little India press up against each other under hanging palms, crumbling colonial buildings, and the towers of the financial district. I'm still not sure what I found.
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I've been asked several times if I'll be skipping Christmas this year in Malaysia. The question of whether there is Christmas in Malaysia is usually asked with a mix a trepidation and suspicion, as if the asker is already pretty sure Christmas is held back at the airport along with chewing gum and smooches.
Not so.
While there isn't much Christmas to be seen in the streets, the malls are tricked out in ways that have shocked these Western eyes. Of course while most of this fervour is to serve the more commercial elements of Christmas, important is that there is no legislation or stigma against it. Muslim Malay, Hindu Indian, and Buddhist Chinese, all Malaysian, come out to enjoy the spectacle as they would other religious celebrations.
More privately, a couple of nights ago we came home to the Christian Indian family across the street pulling on Santa hats in the 30 degree evening and preparing to go carolling.
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