Proud to Be Malaysian?

I have been attending university in the United States of America since August of 2007 and this is my first time back in Malaysia since I left. I leave again in four days, which explains my frantic attempt to bring as much of Malaysia with me as I possibly can. As I shove packets of Mee Maggie(Asam Laksa Flavour) and Kuih Bahulu into my luggage, my mind starts to wander and I find myself thinking: What are Malaysians most proud of? What do we think makes our country special and different?

It is no secret that we have our fair share of political strife, crime and violence, as well as economic struggles -- just like any other country. However, I am confident that there is a lot that we can be thankful for that sets us apart from the rest of the world.

Since I take my responsibility as a Malaysian very seriously, I feel it is my civic duty to act as an unofficial ambassador of Malaysia. So, I love sharing stories about our cultures and traditions to people from other parts of the world -- although I must admit it is hard to explain things like what durian tastes like and how we manage to speak Manglish so fluently!

Here are the two things I ALWAYS mention when talking about Malaysia:

• Proud to be Malaysian! = Proud to have amazing food!

Any Malaysian who has been away for a great length of time will tell you that they miss the "makan". From the moment I left the airport, I feel like I have been on a 'seefood' diet. Where I eat everything I see! Whether it be Chinese, Malay or Indian, I felt compelled to taste as much as possible.

• Proud to be Malaysian! = Proud to be able to speak Manglish!

As I was busy stuffing my face, I realized that my friends gathered around me were Chinese, Malay and Indian as well, which made our discussions all the more interesting. As is commonly heard, our conversations were along the lines of: Aiyo, I so tired until mau pengsan la!


As I prepare to leave Malaysia again, I run through the images in my mind indexing the interesting anecdotes that I will soon share with my friends at college. I know there are many college students out there who are planning to further their tertiary education in foreign countries as well.
I am curious to know: What would YOU highlight about Malaysia? What stories would you tell?


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To all Malaysians: Take it from me, the "makan" here is still the best! ;-)