Back To Malaysia

Having a string of posts on Thailand... and next on Taiwan, it really do seem that I've been away like for quite a long time. Well, actually they were not that long holidays, but instead just very memorable ones, allowing me to capture & see many good moments & events.

And it is so easy to fall in love with these 2 countries. From the places to its people. Seriously.

Is It Just A Holiday & All Things Nice?
But some may wonder and could it be that these countries are looked upon because I went there for holiday? Because I know that it is always very different being on holiday in a country & working/ staying there.

Things can get rather familiar, or the 'honeymoon period' is gone. That means the postcard views, the places of interests don't attract anymore. And one sees the many different aspects of real lives - things that are not mentioned in the tourism brochures.

Taiwanese
And that is why, even in lovely Taiwan, I've heard some locals not being overly happy with their country - especially economic wise. Despite being one of the rare countries to have a bullet train (also known as Taiwan High Speed Rail) or its currently tallest finished tower Taipei 101, but yet the Taiwanese are not that happy.

They have compared Taiwan with 'country of the free', living the American Dream, USA.

Some Taiwanese friends I met also complained on the service level in Taiwan - what a shock! And I thought that their service standards are rather good already!

Thais
For the Thais, I don't hear that much grouses. But seeing from the press reports with protests on the streets, I guess some parties are not happy as well.

Singaporeans
Then over to some Singaporean friends I've talked to. Again, there are complaints... this despite Singapore trying very hard to make itself a financial, media , port hub... and also now transforming the First World city-state to a more vibrant city, and loosing its tag of 'being boring'.

And one statement I heard - "Huh, but why would people want to come here?". She, like the quite many Western or North Asian influenced Singaporeans, and just like some of the Taiwanese, find the other First World countries much more cool compared to theirs.

And at times, these Singaporeans are just puzzled as to why Malaysians are flocking to cross the causeway (or for that matter take a one way ticket flight from Borneo island).

So Where Does This Put Malaysia?
Ok, firstly, I'm not oblivious to the recent news headlines from Malaysia which are shocking, disappointing, scary and any other negative things associated with it. Increase in prices, political uncertainty and many other things have made many Malaysians unhappy and fearful.

And I'm not here to turn a blind eye, but also neither am I here to harp on these issues. But I just want to point out that, despite all these, there are still many foreigners flocking to our country for a better prospect. From Bangladesh to India & Indonesia... and even people from the awaken dragon China!

And then there are even people from First World countries who so love the country who came here for a holiday and have now made Malaysia their home (or second home), mainly living in our resort islands like Langkawi or Penang.

So there must be something that we have to still be a magnet.

An Advice If I May
So my advise to many Malaysians, is rather than doing the GIGO (garbage in garbage out) - ie reading news which eats into us, let's try to focus our energy on things that people look upon us and our country. And try to build on that.

Yes, we are not in dreamland, and some of us can feel the pinch and even the punch, but if we are to stay on in Malaysia, we just have to look on the brighter side of things & make things work for us.

Taking on side jobs could be a start. Working on a side business could be another avenue. The idea is rather than looking at the financial burden, let's increase the financial wealth, shifting our energy to better use and finally not having to worry about all these problems.

Ideal as it may sound, but try if we may, and dream we should.

*More likely than not 80% who read this article will think I'm talking nonsense, but 20% will hear me right. Be that 20%. Dont' complain till you've tried it, dont' give up when you are near. And really, 'just do it'.

Coming up next, I'll share things that have made a change in mindset & which can work wonders for you too :)