Huh Malaysia mentioned. Been a rare occurrence since the 1MDB scandal.
Lots of opinions on this article as a Malaysian.
- Kuala Lumpur is not representative of the rest of Malaysia at all. Seems like that's the only place the author visited. So there's gonna be a lot of bias in this article.
> "Malaysian food isn’t even very distinct"
We do have our unique foods. You just need to know where to look. We have desserts like Kuih Talam (Pandan Coconut Cake), and Nyonya cuisine, both of which local and quite good.
The section on race and ethnicity feels very confused. I suppose it is somewhat difficult to explain the difference between "Malaysian" and "Malay" to outsiders.
> the Malaysian government has worked hard to create unity from this jumble of diversity. Religion has been used as a force to unify the Malay people
* unify against the other ethnic and cultural groups in Malaysia.
> It’s an interesting case study for Americans who believe the now-fashionable right-wing dogma that diversity breeds conflict.
Ah now I see why things are worded so weirdly.
> driving outside of the city center, you see endless forests of apartment towers, similar to what you see in Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Singapore.
Yeah KL is definitely giving off a misrepresentative image. Most of Malaysia is rural with bungalows here and there in small clusters. Even in Penang, you don't really see forests of apartments once you get out of the city centers.
> Climate change has made Japanese summers almost unbearably hot — hotter than Malaysian summers, in fact.
Haha Malaysian summers implying we have a winter. I think the temperature is pretty bearable with just ceiling fans. AC is excessive.
I do think Malaysia has gotten better though. We're still a corrupt country with lots of problems but the worst of it has passed (Najib is jailed)
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