I will always choose Malaysia!

Aug 02, 2024

On the Fence - Jacelyn Johnson

A recent online survey found that Malaysia was the fifth happiest country in the world! The source and extent of this survey is negligible, but is it really that far from the truth? Reading comments on social media every day is enough to tell you that there are a lot of unhappy Malaysians, the current gripe being the ringgit exchange rate, and the increased cost of living.

However, this is indeed a global phenomenon and not something specific to Malaysia. The onset of the COVID-19 economic downturn has led to inflation, which has caused us to be in this situation. Otherwise, as I look around me, I do not find a problem with the country as a whole.

Having just spent almost a month in the landlocked country of Nepal, a country known for its highest mountains and deepest, most fertile valleys and plains, I can safely say that I am indeed proud and grateful to have been born in Malaysia.

Nepal is beautiful. And it comes with the most amazing people. Surprisingly, 1 in every 10 people I met, be it taxi drivers, hotel staff, waiters, security guards, restaurant owners or random strangers, have either worked or studied in Malaysia. Upon finding out we’re Malaysians, they started conversing with us in Bahasa Malaysia. How cool is that? I have never been prouder to speak the language. Even the village children I met on my numerous hikes know of Malaysia, as they have an uncle or an aunt who is currently working in Malaysia. We are actually great in the eyes of random people from random parts of the world. Yet, when back in Malaysia, you get a whole negative vibe about the country.

Let’s talk about infrastructure. Yes, as Malaysians, especially in Kuala Lumpur, we often complain about the numerous traffic jams caused by road closures, because some road or another is constantly being built. While it does pose a major inconvenience to our daily commute, just think about the convenience once it is built. I complained about the road closure leading to my home for five years living here, but now that the SPE is complete, it is my most favourite highway, as it takes me home in a jiffy.

Comparatively, Nepal is just extremely bad at infrastructure. Having lived in Pokhara (tourism city of Nepal) and Kathmandu (capital of Nepal) for two weeks each, and travelling around, I did not spot a single traffic light, or a highway. The roads were constantly in repair due to sinkholes and landslides because the government did not care to improve the country’s infrastructure to benefit its people. Also, their government changes every six months. Just when you thought Malaysia was bad, here you have another country where its people have absolutely no faith in the government, and everyone’s aim in life is to move abroad.

We took a 9.5-hour bus ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu, which could have been a 25-minute plane ride, and I swear it was the most beautiful bus ride ever, sans the landslides strewn all through the journey. The ride went around the mountains and valleys, hence the landslides, which were very normal. One wonders why this is never fixed if it is a constant issue. I mean, they had machinery in place to clear up the landslides, and they were often cleared within the hour!!

Imagine if we had such situations in Malaysia. We do! Landslides often happen on the road to Cameron Highlands, but probably not as often as it does in Nepal. But in Malaysia, you would hardly have fatalities. Two bus-loads of people perished in landslides just hours before we took our journey. Through God’s grace, we were not affected and I was happily taking videos of remnants of the landslide. My mother’s prayers clearly saved us.

I went to two churches in Nepal. St Anne’s Church in Pokhara, where I attended the Mass in English one Sunday — it was small, but to my surprise, there were five of us who formed the congregation apart from 10 or so nuns from various orders and four other parishioners who came in colour coordinated sarees to form the choir, readers and commentator. Essentially, five people contributed to the offertory.

The cathedral in Kathmandu was, however, a bigger, very beautiful church, with 100 people who attend regular weekend Masses, according to the caretaker we spoke to. This was also the church that was bombed by Hindu extremists in 2009. While we in Malaysia often complain about rights to religion, we should be extremely proud and grateful, sans a couple of bomb threats, that we have not had any churches bombed. We live in an Islamic country, and that is a fact that cannot be denied, but we should be grateful for having the opportunity to worship without fear.

Nepal is known as a land of spirituality — according to Wikipedia, 81 per cent of its population are Hindus, with eight per cent of them being Buddhist (although it is known as the birthplace of Buddha). Only one point eight per cent of the 30 million population are Christians. Though they all mostly look alike, they are strong in their caste systems.

However, the Maoist government ensured equal rights for all, especially women. I was most impressed that women there were empowered, capable and not at all inferior to their male counterparts.

I met a very kind lady who ran an unassuming little food shop in Nepal. I call it a food shop and not a restaurant, because it had two tables, with two chairs each. She was divorced after her first child. The child is now 25 years old, ready to get married to someone from China. This Chinese person bought over the shop to have this lady, the mom of his girlfriend, run it. The Chinese have taken the opportunity to infiltrate Nepal, buy lands, taking government projects, etc, but it does benefit the local community, and they are not complaining. Anyway, this lady led me into her tiny kitchen and taught me to cook her Nepalese recipes. It wasn’t too different from your regular Indian-style cooking, but they had their spices mixed slightly differently. But this lady educated me about women’s rights in Nepal and told me that women can do anything they want, unlike other underdeveloped countries, and to me, this is progress.

The more countries I visit, the more I love Malaysia. Yes, I would of course love strolling around the streets of Europe, amidst its beautiful old architecture and fresh air. But nothing beats being in your own country, where life is simple, luxurious, and comfortable, and while you can complain for days on end, it still provides everything you need to have a fulfilled life. No doubt, we are the happiest country in the world. .

(Jacelyn enjoys the occasional religious discourse and says it as it is, in an attempt to diffuse stereotypical observations.)