Colours of the world - Malaysia

In a legal and statehood sense, Malaysia is a Muslim country. Every citizen of Malayan nationality is a Muslim by birth. The state law, in many aspects, obeys the rules of the Koran, a High Commission for Islamic Faith has a full authority of censorship and control, but the Malayan Islam is exceptionally soft and tolerant. Those who had visited Islamic countries, such as Iran, Brunei, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or even The Emirates, Egypt and Morocco, and had found out to their cost how restrictive the fundamental Islam can be, know the difference.

A surprise number one: alcoholic drinks are available everywhere in Malaysia (in hotels, restaurants, discotheques, at airports, bus and railway stations). Excellent local beer, which for years has been winning gold medals and titles for the best world's beer at international trade fairs, is extremely popular. Hotels, nightclubs and discotheques are awash with Scotch whisky and French brandy. The local custom of serving brandy on the rocks or diluting it with soda water gives palpitations to the French.

A surprise number two: women here are luscious, slender and exceptionally beautiful, what is visible to the naked eye as they do not veil their faces the Muslim way. In rural areas, more often than their city counterparts, they wear traditional Malayan garments: long, silk, bright and colourful dresses with silk scarf over their heads and shoulders. But their faces are on display.

A surprise number three: Malaysia is the proverbial melting pot of different nationalities. Malays are predominant, other large ethnic groups are: the Chinese, Hindu, Sikhs, Thais and ethnic groups of Borneo, i.e., Dyaks and others. All these peoples of Malaysia coexist in absolute harmony and religious peace. Mosques neighbour on Buddhist and Hindu temples. Nowhere any trace of aggression or intrusive religious propaganda.

And now an area where expectations are met: many Europeans travelling to Asia wish to experience culinary delights in the original. In Malaysia they will not be disappointed. Here they will find all Asian cuisines starting on piquant Malayan, Chinese and Hindu specialities and ending with typical Portuguese dishes. Pork, unheard of in other Muslim countries, here is served in many places: in Chinese and Thai restaurants without limit and is on the menus of hotel restaurants with the exception of the Langkawi Islands. Completing the picture with tourists sunbathing in the nude on the beautiful beaches of Langkawi, clean trains and buses running on the dot, the spotlessly clean Sky Train in Kuala Lumpur, English spoken almost all over the country and we have the most tourist-friendly Muslim country in the world.

Witold Gawlikowski

NB The above text is an excerpt of the article, which appeared in the Cosmopolitan magazine numbered 2/97.

General Information on Malaysia

The oldest world's rain forest grows in Malaysia and the tallest skyscrapers are erected here. It is a country with the greatest number of ethnic groups in South-East Asia, but also the most stable and crime-free. Although Islam is the dominating religion, other cultures play an important role in public life. Owing to religious tolerance, which is observed in this country, other persuasions, like Buddhism, Hinduism or Christianity, can coexist. Malayan is the official language but in everyday life English also is in general use.

Malaysia is a tropical country situated in the middle of South-East Asia, on the Malay Peninsula and on the northern part of the island of Borneo. Climate here is humid and hot all year round with lower temperatures only in the higher parts of the mountains.

The Malay Peninsula is fascinatingly exotic, multicultural, and rich in flora and fauna and in natural beauty. The wonderful sandy beaches, sky-blue lagoons, luxurious hotels, make Malaysia worthy to be called the ‘vacation paradise'. For ages many adventurers have been attracted by the stretches of tropical forests, virgin archipelagos and the mysterious world of the island of Borneo.

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is renowned for its architectural grandeur and modernity. Day by day hundreds of thousands of European and American specialists go to work here. The ultra-modern district of the Golden Triangle fascinates everybody with the aluminium and glass might of the Petronas Towers - the highest buildings in the world, architectural extravagance of the Stock Exchange building, telecommunication tower and many other imposing edifices housing banks and multinational business corporations. Fully automated network of high-speed trains and the Underground make it possible, within minutes, to access districts from another fairy-tale. In the old Chinatown, now more and more dotted with invading office buildings and modern shopping centres, nightlife and legal or illicit trade flourish. In the former colonial district we can find buildings modelled on the Victorian architecture. A short walk south and you reach a charming railway station and the nearby National Mosque with an interesting Museum of the Muslim Culture. On the hill above tourist are awaited by the splendours of nature offered by the Orchid and Hibiscus Garden, Birds' and Butterflies' Parks. Visitors to the Malayan capital should obligatorily log a visit to the world's largest manufacturer of items made of tin and to the handicraft centre where the dyeing-of-batik process can be watched. While visiting Kuala Lumpur you cannot deny yourself a feast (both culinary and spiritual) at the altitude of 421 metres in the rotating restaurant at the top of the KL Menara Transmission Tower. During the meal guests can admire the panorama of the town through the glass walls of the restaurant. A trip to the maze of gigantic Batu Caves, around 15 kilometres away from Kuala Lumpur, is also recommended. During the World War II those caves were used as hideouts for anti-Japanese guerrillas and from the second part of 19 th century serve as a centre of the Hindu cult for the entire Malay Peninsula.

Borneo

Borneo... the mere name stirs imagination. A huge island with a teeming j ungle life, mysterious headhunters and the highest peak in South-East Asia. From Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kanibalu, the capital of Sabah province in the South-East of Borneo is only a thirty minute journey by air. >From airplane Borneo looks like an infinite ocean of green. The world's third largest island is, for the most part, covered with tropical jungle. In the thick equatorial forests, cross-crossed by rivers and waterfalls, one can mix with extraordinary flora and fauna. In the heart of the lush jungle the mighty massif of holy Mt Kanibalu rises skyward, three kilometres high, a challenge for all lovers of mountaineering. Some of the hikers can encounter, in the thicket of the forest, an unusual plant – rafflesia, whose huge red flowers sometimes achieve one metre in diameter.

Penang

Penang is the first and the best known in the world resort called the ‘Pearl of the Orient'. The island lies in the Andaman Sea, around 400 kilometres northwest off Kuala Lumpur. It is connected with mainland by a 13.5 kilometre long suspension bridge, one of the world's longest.

Georgetown is the capital of Penang, the oldest British settlement in Malaysia. Venturing out into the narrow streets we will discover a mysterious world of mosques, temples and churches. This intriguing, vigorous town has a specific-for-the-Orient atmosphere of street life. There is a large Chinatown on the island founded by Chinese immigrants.

Around 15 kilometres off Georgetown, on the southeastern coast, the resort hotel area begins. All kinds of water sports can be pursued here, e.g. sailing, scuba diving or windsurfing. The northern part of Penang is renowned for its beautiful beaches with golden sand and dark blue sea. At night many restaurants and nightclubs come to life.

Langkawi Islands

These idyllic islands of Langkawi lie around 600 kilometres away from Kuala Lumpur and south of the Thai island of Phuket. It is a world of luxurious resorts, crystal clear water of the lagoons and most beautiful beaches, which, here and there, are up to 200 metres wide. When in 1987 this archipelago was made a duty-free zone it transformed into a Mecca for the rich of this world. The islands are not over-crowded as yet but word about their beauty spreads, the ‘duty-free' magnet and direct airline services, make the tourist traffic grow every year. Those who look for super holiday on fabulous islands, in peace and quiet, must hurry up.

The Langkawi archipelago, consisting of 99 islands (only seven of which are inhabited) offers not only beaches and the best hotel base in Malaysia but also excellent leisure activities. Among the most popular are: hikes in tropical forests, excursions to the caves and scuba diving. We recommend a catamaran trip to the Pulau Payar Island, where one of the world's most beautiful Ocean Parks is located. On a 49 metres by 15 platform, moored at sea, there are: an observatory, glass-bottomed boats and equipment for skin diving in underwater gardens.