Why Thailand if Malaysia is so much easier and nicer

[opalred]

hello English police strike again 

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 3:44 PM, Air Smiles said:

 

Homosexuality is only just emerging from being criminalised in the west, conversion therapy is still legal in 41 states across the US, including Massachusetts and New York.  The Malay government released a video and banned a march so what?  They are still turning a blind eye to the gay bars and massage parlours so, Yes, crushing stereotypes? ...did you not read the comments in this thread that have Malaysia painted as ultra conservative culture a'la Islam?

Depends where in Malaysia one goes. Some states are quite fundamentalist and others less so.

Edited February 1, 2018 by thaibeachlovers

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 6:57 PM, opalred said:

i lived there for a few yrs  

and have been most country's in the world and would say that would be the worst

even changed to slam because of a women i was going with 

i saw all sides of Malaysia 

and you would have rocks in the head to stay there

Hardly the worst, but I wouldn't want to live there.

[Jingthing]

20 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

I'm not sure how apostasy is treated, since obviously apostates by definition are not Muslims.  

I think in practice your religion is irrelevant, if it says "Muslim" on your Identity Card you're subject to Sharia law and the legal constraints that apply to Muslims.

 

SC

Well, I was curious, and I think this link covers it pretty well.

Basically, if you're Muslim in Malaysia, you generally cannot ever officially convert or have no religious identity, and in some local areas, you'd be subject to punishment. So if Malaysians try to say they have freedom of religion, well, they really don't. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Malaysia

Quote

For example, a Muslim who wants to convert to another religion must get an explicit permission from a syariah court. The syariah courts rarely grant such requests, except in cases where a person has actually lived his or her whole adult life as a person of different religion, and only wants to change the official documents to reflect this fact. The Islamic interpretation of the situation is that only the syariah courts can decide who is a Muslim and who is not. A person does not have such freedom, and so cannot have a say in the judgement given in a syariah court.

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

20 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

I'm not sure how apostasy is treated, since obviously apostates by definition are not Muslims.  

I think in practice your religion is irrelevant, if it says "Muslim" on your Identity Card you're subject to Sharia law and the legal constraints that apply to Muslims.

 

SC

Well, I was curious, and I think this link covers it pretty well.

Basically, if you're Muslim in Malaysia, you generally cannot ever officially convert or have no religious identity, and in some local areas, you'd be subject to punishment. So if Malaysians try to say they have freedom of religion, well, they really don't. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Malaysia

Quote

For example, a Muslim who wants to convert to another religion must get an explicit permission from a syariah court. The syariah courts rarely grant such requests, except in cases where a person has actually lived his or her whole adult life as a person of different religion, and only wants to change the official documents to reflect this fact. The Islamic interpretation of the situation is that only the syariah courts can decide who is a Muslim and who is not. A person does not have such freedom, and so cannot have a say in the judgement given in a syariah court.

 

 

 

[opalred]

i converted and have a Muslim card as i was going to marry a Muslim

i left after seeing how stupid it was 

you can marry 5 wives  as long as you show you can support them 

and as long as they are over 12yrs old   how sick 

looking forward to all the virgins promised when i die

but my Thai wife said she will be boxing them there

[Scooby and Puppy]

On 30/01/2018 at 2:49 PM, MaeJoMTB said:

Looks in passport ........ every PI entry I've made gave me 1 month.

My stamp says Jun 16 to July 8 (22 days),

the scribble on it was the overstay. I had to go and find an ATM because I didn’t have enough pesos on me, (gave it all to a Philly friend who needed it more than me)...I did assume it was 30 days, but it seems it wasn’t for me. Glad you have a month though.

when were you there mate?  My mrs says it changed some time ago (dunno if she is right, mind you). I am wondering if I had been scammed by them...now it has annoyed me, even though it was 7 years ago...55555. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Scooby and Puppy
Needed to add a bit more information

[MaeJoMTB]

Rules must have changed .......... 'stay until' on yours has no date stamp?

 

Edited February 2, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[Redcurry]

Malaysia is definitely less crowded and peaceful, also they have nice beaches. I'm just not into Malaysian food. Really, their food is nothing compared to Thai food. 

[AloisAmrein]

7 hours ago, Redcurry said:

I'm just not into Malaysian food. Really, their food is nothing compared to Thai food. 

Malaysian and specially Indonesian food is much more varied then the everyday Thai kitchen. After one week in Thailand, eating becomes a boring duty. Chicken and rice, rice and pork, tom yam kung, tom yam gai and that's it. Absolutely boring.

[ChidlomDweller]

On 2/1/2018 at 6:56 PM, opalred said:

you can marry 5 wives  as long as you show you can support them 

And judging from the households I see on lower Sukhumvit, as long as they're at least 100kg.

[ChidlomDweller]

47 minutes ago, AloisAmrein said:

Malaysian and specially Indonesian food is much more varied then the everyday Thai kitchen. After one week in Thailand, eating becomes a boring duty. Chicken and rice, rice and pork, tom yam kung, tom yam gai and that's it. Absolutely boring.

No, LOL!  I'm leaving Thailand in May and the one thing I'll miss the most is the food.  I'm mostly vegetarian / pescatarian but even within that there's so much variety I wouldn't mind eating only Thai food three times a day for the rest of my life.

[KiChakayan]

The one thing that stopped me moving to Malaysia (under M2H) was the cost of schools, looked like I'd end up paying one up to THB 1M a year in school fees. So not an option if you have school age kids. The other thing is how would my Thai wife perceived and treated there. So I reluctantly stay here and do time sharing between immigration and the loo..

[MaeJoMTB]

1 hour ago, AloisAmrein said:

Malaysian and specially Indonesian food is much more varied then the everyday Thai kitchen. After one week in Thailand, eating becomes a boring duty. Chicken and rice, rice and pork, tom yam kung, tom yam gai and that's it. Absolutely boring.

Learn to cook, then you can eat food from all over the world in your own home.

[Berkshire]

3 hours ago, AloisAmrein said:

Malaysian and specially Indonesian food is much more varied then the everyday Thai kitchen. After one week in Thailand, eating becomes a boring duty. Chicken and rice, rice and pork, tom yam kung, tom yam gai and that's it. Absolutely boring.

That's only true if all you can afford to eat is street food.  Or if you let your wife do all the cooking.  You don't seem to know much about Thai food and its diversity.  But regardless, I don't know any westerner who eats Thai food every single day.  I myself mix it up with Italian, Japanese, Chinese, American, etc., with Thai food being another great option. 

[gk10002000]

On 1/27/2018 at 5:00 AM, Juntaa said:

Sad. I will ignore this comment.

You may ignore the Islam comment but I am sure many people take that into consideration.  Islamic law, prohibitions on drinking and other types of activities may not make Malaysia that popular to many people.  Some people greatly prefer Buddhism governments and mentality that if nothing else tend to be less enforcement of things especially if kept low key.  Some facets of Islamic law can lead to Draconian enforcement

[Destiny1990]

Trump has a good describing  word for Countries such as Malaysia.

[StreetCowboy]

16 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

You may ignore the Islam comment but I am sure many people take that into consideration.  Islamic law, prohibitions on drinking and other types of activities may not make Malaysia that popular to many people.  Some people greatly prefer Buddhism governments and mentality that if nothing else tend to be less enforcement of things especially if kept low key.  Some facets of Islamic law can lead to Draconian enforcement

What prohibitions on drinking are there in Malaysia?

 

Unlike Thailand, I can sit outside at the coffee shop opposite the police station and enjoy a Tiger beer in the Summer sunshine any day of the year, and all afternoon.  If public holiday afternoon drinking in roadside cafes is your bag, then Thailand is a particularly frustrating country.

 

As I understand, Opalred is the only one amongst us who is not allowed to drink in Malaysia

 

SC

[tifino]

 the only ever restriction we encountered in Malaysia; was because we (military) drank DutyFree Anchor etc, which was supposedly never to be allowed to go Off The Base.

 

we had to be careful to ensure locals did not get hold of it This was actually nothing to do with Islam either - but more so that we would lose our Duty Free beer drinking status if empties were found off the (AF) Base

 

the cure was, and is still somewhat habit-forming - as in the peeling off of the beer stubby's label, which had Duty Free written on it

 

it became a very messy place to clean up fafter a session... all this squishy shreds of red black white sticky label shapnel made more mess than confetti

[tgeezer]

On 27/01/2018 at 5:00 PM, Juntaa said:

Sad. I will ignore this comment.

Islam cannot be ignored nowadays because Islam is the road to mohammedinism by which means they mean to kill all of us who resist them.  

[opalred]

beer and wine available every where   but high tax added

mainly from Indian and Chinese shops

i used to buy German and Holland beer up to 12% alcohol

extra large cans 90b to 120b a can

or go to langawi buy duty free; the only place a can of beer was cheaper than a bottle of water

[KiChakayan]

2 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Trump has a good describing  word for Countries such as Malaysia.

I guess Trump thinks Malaysia is somewhere in Africa?

[DDBKK]

I find it quite amazing that someone doing a small bit of travelling can form any opinion on what it's actually like to live in either location without actually doing so themselves. 

 

I'd travelled Thailand many times before moving there and travelling the country is nothing like living there. Travelling you are in your own bubble. Living there is an evolving experience. 

 

Edited February 4, 2018 by DDBKK

[pennine]

4 hours ago, DDBKK said:

I find it quite amazing that someone doing a small bit of travelling can form any opinion on what it's actually like to live in either location without actually doing so themselves. 

 

I'd travelled Thailand many times before moving there and travelling the country is nothing like living there. Travelling you are in your own bubble. Living there is an evolving experience. 

 

 

4 hours ago, DDBKK said:

I find it quite amazing that someone doing a small bit of travelling can form any opinion on what it's actually like to live in either location without actually doing so themselves. 

 

I'd travelled Thailand many times before moving there and travelling the country is nothing like living there. Travelling you are in your own bubble. Living there is an evolving experience. 

 

Very true.

[StreetCowboy]

Enjoying an afternoon cider after physiotherapy at the hospital.  The Malay physiotherapist spoke excellent English, the Bangladeshi waiter had OK English.  It was too hot to sit at the Chinese place for lunch.  

[opalred]

a funny thing  i was going with a muslim girl 

when we went shopping at large supermarkets 

they have a closed room where you  can buy bacon

the checkout girls will not touch

  so you have to put it through the scammer yourself 

then girlfriend made me put it in the boot of the car

another Chinese shop sold bacon 

and when i brought was told to say i wanted smoked chicken

so no one in the shop new it was pork

[ExpatOilWorker]

7 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

Enjoying an afternoon cider after physiotherapy at the hospital.  The Malay physiotherapist spoke excellent English, the Bangladeshi waiter had OK English.  It was too hot to sit at the Chinese place for lunch.  

Looks like a lonely cowboy.

[StreetCowboy]

1 hour ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Looks like a lonely cowboy.

A quiet Sunday afternoon, on the way back from the hospital, as mentioned,

Next weekend probably quiet as well, then hopefully a couple of hundred km over Chinese New Year with my cycling buddies.  Then I can maybe get you a photo with a table full of glasses.

 

SC

 

[tonray]

On 2/3/2018 at 10:02 AM, gk10002000 said:

Islamic law, prohibitions on drinking and other types of activities may not make Malaysia that popular to many people. 

Because of the large Chinese Malaysian community....you can pretty much drink anywhere except on the grounds of a mosque. And BTW anyone who had lived in Malaysia for any time knows that Malay Muslim men get together in discrete locations and drink what they call toddy, which is a fermented palm sap liquor which is a something akin to a cross between Lao Khao and gasoline. They just don't talk about it but they drink and smoke plenty and only the most pious actually follow the rules of Islam when it comes to vice.

[ChristianBlessing]

I have lived and worked and worked in Kuala Lumpur for over 10 years. I live in an expat enclave, so my perspective is that of a privileged expat. That said, I have spent significant time exploring the length and breadth of Malaysia, and would offer the following on the OP's observations:

• "No ATM fees" With a few exceptions, there are ATM fees. Most local banks limit free withdrawals to 8, after which a fee may be applied. Inter-bank withdrawals can be as high as RM 2. This, of course, pales compared to the extortionate ฿ 220 in Thailand.
• With the exception of the major cities of KL, Ipoh, Malaka and Penang/Langkawi, comprehensible English is the exception rather than the rule.
• While the food is varied and delicious, it can difficult to find quality Western food. Quality pizza is puzzlingly rare, and Mexican (my personal favorite) is non-existent. Add a beer, wine or mixed drink to any meal and one can easily double or triple the final bill.
• The eastern coast of Malaysia, as well as the islands off the coast, have gorgeous beaches and diving spots.

Like the OP, I find Malaysians of all backgrounds to be exceedingly friendly and approachable. However, I find most people throughout SE Asia to be equally so.

 

My biggest issue with living in Kuala Lumpur is the basic infrastructure. Certainly where I live the developers have built some glistening, towering condominiums and luxurious shopping malls, but the streets and road networks are poorly planned, traffic signals fail and are never repaired, sidewalks are nothing short of treacherous, and there are simply no public safety easements to allow emergency vehicle passage. Malls and shopping centers are built with woefully inadequate parking forcing patrons to double and triple park for blocks around, presenting further risks and inconvenience for pedestrians. Finally, public servants (ie police) in Kuala Lumper keep a pretty low profile. Even in my little bubble snatch theft, burglaries and personal assault are distressingly common.

 

Maybe I've been here too long. It is said the familiarity breeds contempt, and perhaps that's so. Some days I feel that the gloss and glitter of the Kuala Lumpur skyline is betrayed by a fundamental crumbling on the ground.