50 Fun & Quick Facts About Malaysians

For many Malaysians living abroad, one of the hardest things to do when speaking to people is explaining our culture to them. God knows how many times our explanations have been met with confusion or even disbelief. If that is the case, why not show this list to them?

Or maybe you’re a foreigner who’s interested in learning more about Malaysians but isn’t too keen on reading huge blocks of text. If that is the case, here is a quick introduction on this quiet, yet surprisingly colourful country.

Malaysia is a multicultural and multiracial Southeast Asian country that is situated between Thailand and Singapore. Although it is not as well known as its other two Southeast Asian siblings, it is by no means a pushover. Malaysia has plenty to offer, and one of its biggest highlights is its people.

Here are 50 quick facts about the people who consider me their niece or big sister despite not being related to me (this will make sense later on. I promise):

1. Due to our country’s multiracial and multicultural makeup, we Malaysians tend to have built-in cultural radars.
2. Thanks to this, we’re used to dealing with foreigners.
3. Malaysians are very friendly. Expect nosy questions from them; it’s their way of making conversation. (No “us” here, because I’ve dropped that habit while living in Japan haha.)
4. About 60% of Malaysians are Muslims, but there are many other believers of other religions as well.
5. Malaysia is primarily made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians, and numerous indigenous tribes in Borneo.
6. Most Malaysians are at the very least, bilingual. They can speak, read and write English and Malay.
7. If they know any additional languages, they either learn it at home (for instance, if they are of Chinese descent, they would learn Chinese) or take language classes. Common languages include Mandarin Chinese, various Chinese dialects and Tamil.
8. Thanks to this, we have a habit of mixing up to 4 languages in a single sentence! We call this “Bahasa Rojak”.
9. We love to end our sentences with the word “lah”. “Bah” if we’re from Sabah.
10. We’re actually pretty decent at English. Malaysia has the 3rd highest English proficiency in Asia as of 2019.

1. Malaysians have a unique cultural tradition called “open house” whereby they open up their houses to either friends and family or the public to enjoy some chitchat and food during certain festivities. These are a common feature during Hari Raya celebrations.
2. Malaysians tend to have a habit of bringing around water bottles to school and even work.
3. Have you heard of the ever infamous “Malaysian timing”? Malaysians are usually late for meetups by up to 20 minutes!
4. Malaysians tend to be foodies. A notable number are willing to make road trips to different states just to eat at certain restaurants!
5. Pointing with your forefinger is considered rude by Malaysians. We typically point with our thumbs.
6. We believe in the power of the “hand”. When we cross the road, we hold out our palm in front of the incoming car, signalling for them to slow down.
7. Many Malaysians can be superstitious and have a preoccupation with the supernatural.
8. When at the mamak (a type of eatery that serves Malay-Indian food), we tend to call the workers “Boss”. It’s a fun and light-hearted away to address them!
9. Malaysians are spoiled for choice when it comes to food. It is common for a myriad of local and foreign cuisines (think Japanese, Korean, Italian, etc) to be housed in the same mall.
10. Malaysians tend to be pretty laidback. We don’t get uptight over little details.

1. Thus, we can be pretty forgiving. If you make a mistake, we’d just shrug it off. It happens.
2. Malaysians love social media! Chances are that after hanging out with some Malaysians, you’d walk away with new Facebook friends.
3. We typically call people much older than us “aunty” or “uncle”, and those who aren’t that much older either by their name or “kakak” (big sister) or “abang” (big brother), regardless of whether we are actually related. We’re just a big family here!
4. We usually shower twice a day. Those with certain superstitions do it once a day.
5. Sometimes, Malaysians would ask for your religion, not to be nosy (though this can sometimes be the case!) but to ascertain your diet. The more subtle ones would ask if there are certain things you can’t eat.
6. We watch a lot of English, especially American, content.
7. We like to spend our weekends at shopping malls.
8. We love to travel! We are willing to save money so we can do so every year, whether domestically or abroad.
9. Another one of our favourite pastimes is chilling out at the mamak with our friends.
10. We love to eat. So much so that we were at one point, the fattest country in Asia.

1. On that note, we love spicy food.
2. Nasi lemak is our unofficial national dish. We can have this during any time of day, no problem.
3. Instead of alcohol, we’re fond of sweet drinks like bubble tea, teh tarik and milo.
4. We either love or hate durian.
5. While durian is famous internationally, a lesser-known food item that may challenge tourists (and Malaysians as well, actually!) is sago worms. These are eaten in Sarawak and reportedly taste either like coconuts or chicken.
6. Malaysians are heavy car-users who do not enjoy walking outside. It’s very hot and humid in our country.
7. We like to complain. It’s almost a national sport.
8. We’re a funny lot. We love making jokes, even at our own expense!
9. That said, Malaysians sometimes use humour to either express their anger/displeasure or to lighten the air.
10. We don’t like confrontation. We try to avoid it, attempt to express ourselves in a nice and indirect way, or get someone else to deliver the bad news.

1. Some Malaysians believe that the number 4 is bad luck. This is because 4 sounds like the word “death” in Mandarin. There are quite a number of buildings in Malaysia that don’t have a 4th floor; instead, we have 2nd, 3rd, 3A, 5th and so on.
2. Malaysians can be quite thrifty. Growing up, I remember lots of aunties using old bits of clothes as dirt rags. They’d use these until the cloths die a natural death.
3. Family is very important to Malaysians. It’s not unusual for Malaysians to carve one day of the week specifically for family.
4. With our colourful religious and cultural background, Malaysia has a ton of holidays. We love it!
5. Regardless of race and religion, we like to celebrate festivities together.
6. Less than a century ago, headhunting was commonplace among certain tribes in Sabah and Sarawak. Fast forward to the future, Sabahans and Sarawakians are some of the most chill people you’ll ever meet.
7. To ward off bad luck after talking about an unwanted outcome, some Malaysians like to knock on wood and say “touch wood” while doing so.
8. There are different ways to greet each other in Malaysia; a wave, a handshake, a slight bow coupled with briefly clasping each other’s hands, kissing the back of an elder’s hand, etc. The determining factor is the other person’s race and or religion, and in certain cases, age. You can hardly ever go wrong with a wave or a handshake, though! (But if you’re a man and you wish to greet a Muslim woman, a wave is better.)
9. The Malay traditional dress, “baju kurung”, is commonly worn by women in everyday life, regardless of race and religion.
10. Malaysian people do not particularly care about fashion, preferring to be comfortable. Reflecting this, Malaysian women usually don’t wear makeup. Jeans and t-shirts are common everyday wear.