How is Malaysia ?

[recom273]

Sorry to say, I always see Malaysia as a little backward. I have travelled independently all over the mainland, everything seems a little inconvenient, its not so accessible as Thailand, always seems a little dirty. Certainly, I (along with thousands of Malays that leave there every weekend) think we get better value for money living here. For me, I’m interested in tech, internet, etc, so I look at the speeds, mobile packages, prices of things, accessibility of things, we do far better here.

 

Its very far from a true multicultural experience, the Chinese and Indians have a long history of being rough ridden by the Malays. I live on the Malay border, I can easily go visit, but rarely do these days, been to the Cameron’s a few times, Penang for an Indian curry, explored the national parks off road (visited the ethnic minorities living in the jungle, all being converted to Islam)  

 

Outside of Penang and KL, English isn’t so widely spoken apart from when you stumble on these Chinese trading towns. 

 

Most of the inconveniences I find are outside Penang and KL, which is off topic, so I won’t go into detail. 

 

Just interested to hear why the OP considers Malaysia, is it in reaction to visa regulations or a genuine interest.  

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, ncc1701d said:

I was going to buy in Penang a few years ago, but in a local paper there was a front page article that “they” had issued a fatwa on yoga. They thought that if people started doing yoga, then it may get the practitioners thinking about where yoga came from and join that religion. Absolutely moronic. 

 

Having said that, Penang does have amazing food and a polite, friendly scene. 

Was told by a Filipina friend that the church banned it also in the Philippines.  All religions teach good things, and practice some bad things too.     

[Deerculler]

I like Malaysia.

I like the food.

The people.

The topography

If I could afford to live there I would not hestitate.

 

[watcharacters]

On 5/29/2019 at 9:55 PM, Destiny1990 said:

I been to Penang and KL I honestly didn’t like both those cities at all.

Langkawi I haven’t been and i wont go back to Malaysia either go check it out it cant be worse than Penang and KL.

 

Please tell us what you didn't like about KL or Penang.

 

I personally can't imagine what's not to like.

 

[CGW]

I have lived and worked in Malaysia, as stated it is a multi cultural society, sadly the cultures don't particularly like each other so their is always an underlying tension.

Food is great as due to the multi cultures you have a lot of variety.

[Sakeopete]

I worked in Malaysia and holiday with my wife to Penang. Holiday wise Thailand has Malaysia beat hands down. I liked Penang and KL but a bit boring compared to Thailand. Work wise I loved it great people and very professional. Didn't work with any Somchai's in Miri or Labuan. Malaysian roads are safer and taxi's were good. However it lacks that crazy charm that is Thailand. 

[malibukid]

love KL, great shopping, transportation, restaurants and they have an excellent philharmonic orchestra.  world class city. 

[Destiny1990]

2 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

Please tell us what you didn't like about KL or Penang.

 

I personally can't imagine what's not to like.

 

It stinks in Kl..

Boring malls, mostly bad fried foods etc..

Penang is a dead boring place it appears as an old fashioned town and likewise mentality..

Sorry I don’t even have one nice thing to say about it. Well ok they speak some English!

Anyway that Malaysia population is a mix of chinese ,muslims and Indians honestly I didn’t like that mix either..

[Tayaout]

Langkawi is amazing. Everything is clean. Nice people. The whole island is a duty free. I visited twice and will go again. It goes from city to super quiet in the north. I brought my wife and she could speak Thai with some thai/Malay peoples living there. She came with me visit Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. Langkawi is the only place my wife want to visit again. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Tayaout

[crazyk]

Langkawi is a great place,nice beaches if that's your thing,duty free beer & cigarettes from the duty free shops,house rental about half price of thailand,no hassle with immigration changing the rules,no gangs of locals looking to beat up foreigners,theft is a rarity there but common sense prevails,if your a sex tourist or fancy a few hours of company with a woman ,that's there but will not say here,the £ is worth more here,also other currencies, the £ has dropped like a bag of sxxt to the baht but not to the ringgit check out the exchange rates & prices of rental,also if you can find prices of other things,a packet of fags 4.70 about 90p uk

[taiwanatoa]

On 6/20/2019 at 8:38 AM, scuba2day said:

Malaysia has a lot to like.

Malaysians are much less xenophobic than Thais. It is a multi-cultural society and people get along for the most part. Malaysians are more polite and courteous to other people. Kuching in East Malaysia even more so and Malays are the minority (23%). Most people with any education speak English. It is possible to have intelligent conversations with random people. Most Thais have no real interest in anything outside their little world. The variety of good food at reasonable prices is much larger. There is the local Malay, Indian and Chinese but also other food from all over the world. Very easy for foreigners to setup and work in their own business. Malaysians will never make up random excuses to not provide services to a foreigner. 

 

Civilised 90-day visa exempt entry.  

You can get a 10 year visa. Period. Cost is 650RM. No re-entry permit non-sense. No 90 day reporting. No reporting every time you stay a night in a hotel or friends house. No reporting when you come back home.

The financial requirements are harder and a 150,000 RM (over 50) or 300,000 RM (under 50) lock-in term deposit is required. 50,000 RM may be withdrawn after one year for house/condo purchase or medical expenses. Very easy to get 3% interest. So if you have a hard time putting together 800,000 baht then it is not for you.

 

You can buy property. However, there is a minimum price of 1M RM and 500,000 RM in Penang.

Most condos are 2 or 3 bedroom.

 

Local beer and alcohol can be more expensive. However, imported beer can be cheaper. You can get a pint of Guinness for 160 baht at a bar in KL or Penang. Langkawi is a duty free area so can buy a bottle of liqueur at a good price but can only take one bottle off the island.

 

The infrastructure is much superior.

 

 

 

ou can get a 10 year visa. Period. Cost is 650RM

How could you possibly get a 10 year visa for 650 rm??

Edited August 6, 2019 by taiwanatoa
I couldn't tell if you posted it

[StreetCowboy]

I really enjoy cycling in and around KL.  At the weekends, drivers are generally courteous and considerate.

 

The weather is reliable, albeit the rain can be heavy at certain times of year.

Road conditions are generally OK.  The highways can be a challenge on a bicycle.

 

During Ramadan, it can be challenging finding food and drink out in the boondocks, but generally no problem.  Out in the boondocks you won't find pubs, but in the cities plenty.

 

SC

[taiwanatoa]

Sorry to say, I always see Malaysia as a little backward. I have travelled independently all over the mainland, everything seems a little inconvenient, its not so accessible as Thailand, always seems a little dirty. Certainly, I (along with thousands of Malays that leave there every weekend) think we get better value for money living here. For me, I’m interested in tech, internet, etc, so I look at the speeds, mobile packages, prices of things, accessibility of things, we do far better here.
 
Its very far from a true multicultural experience, the Chinese and Indians have a long history of being rough ridden by the Malays. I live on the Malay border, I can easily go visit, but rarely do these days, been to the Cameron’s a few times, Penang for an Indian curry, explored the national parks off road (visited the ethnic minorities living in the jungle, all being converted to Islam)  
 
Outside of Penang and KL, English isn’t so widely spoken apart from when you stumble on these Chinese trading towns. 
 
Most of the inconveniences I find are outside Penang and KL, which is off topic, so I won’t go into detail. 
 
Just interested to hear why the OP considers Malaysia, is it in reaction to visa regulations or a genuine interest.  

It's really both of those reasons


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[SteveK]

Malaysia is actually quite a forward thinking country in general and does a lot of advanced manufacturing for companies around the globe. The people are really decent and friendly, the weather is just the same as Thailand, and the food is very diverse due to the fact that the country consists of several ethnic groups who all seem to get along (more or less). Standard of spoken English is noticeably better than Thailand and annoyances are pretty minimal. Taxi drivers always use the meter. Visas aren't really an issue and you don't need to send in half a dozen scanned documents every time you leave your house.

 

However - it is pretty boring. Langkawi is 100% lame to anyone who has ever been to Phuket or Samui. Nightlife scene sucks, and ladies are generally not available. As a place to live and work, it's great. But if you're looking for a little bit of fun, forget about it. Alcohol is outrageously expesnive in KL.

 

I've probably been to Malaysia 6-7 times at a guess, and am 100% done with the place. Never going again. It just doesn't have that buzz that Thailand does. Penang has that old colonial charm about it but I was bored there after just a couple of days.

Edited September 23, 2019 by SteveK

[steven100]

In Malaysia you won't be scammed by tuk tuk drivers

the taxi driver will put the meter on.

motorbikes won't go on the footpath.

if you are in trouble the police will investigate.

department store staff won't follow you around the store.

brakes won't fail at every car accident.

IO won't harass you.

airport immigration will smile when you enter.

 

geeeze  …..   how boring   !!

 

[SteveK]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

geeeze  …..   how boring   !!

Spend a few months there - it is a pretty boring place.

[steven100]

2 minutes ago, SteveK said:

Spend a few months there - it is a pretty boring place.

been there many times …. the only good area is Butik Bitang where the expat bars are.

[SteveK]

3 minutes ago, steven100 said:

been there many times …. the only good area is Butik Bitang where the expat bars are.

There's that bar in Bukit Bintang which serves pints of imported German beer for about 80 Ringgit a pop. Great beer but after a few I'm bankrupted.

 

Edit 80 MYR = 583 baht.

Edited September 23, 2019 by SteveK

[sunnyboy2018]

On 5/29/2019 at 3:01 PM, scorecard said:

Keep in mind that Malaysia is quite complex in terms of it's own internal cultural mix: Malays, Chines, Indians and Sri lankans (they are all Malaysian citizens, many have been in Malaysia forevr / multiple generations. 

 

A very large % of the population speak the Bahasa Malaysia language regardless of their heredity, many also speak Tamil, many also speak 1 or several Chinese dialects, many speak English. 

 

Islam is the dominant religion (quite a few very serious) also quite a few Christians (almost can be quite serious), and a few buddhists, hindus etc. People are very clean, pleasant, helpful and courteous, cleaner than Thais in terms of the environment.

 

I had a country office in KL, worked with the locals / guided the locals many times in large consulting projects. All local staff were Malaysian (not foreigners, not needed), locals all well educated, all very capable, self-starters, good team players / very cooperative and always very respectful but no hesitation to politely discuss options etc., developed good value client solutions, excellent at delivery to the various mid size to mostly large size clients.  

 

The most recent gov't making some good progress on fighting corruption etc. There's quite a bit of ongoing infrastructure development. 

 

Agree, daily life is mostly as it was decades ago, great food options, for me especially in the Nth of Malaysia in and around Penang. 

 

Just my opinion, others may have a different view, their right of course, personally not on my agenda to live there but horses for courses.  

 

 

There is also decent nightlife in KL I believe. 

[SteveK]

3 minutes ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

There is also decent nightlife in KL I believe. 

There is nightlife in KL. I wouldn't say decent though.

[tifino]

5 minutes ago, SteveK said:

There is nightlife in KL. I wouldn't say decent though.

oh well, there was always the Petaling markets by day, that  darkly transformed into a sort of version of a Walking Street! 

 

only productive nightlife, was to drive the over an hour up the Genting Highlands, and lose all your remaining Ringgits... 

[SteveK]

I quite enjoyed my time up in Genting, didn't win anything though and it was actually pretty filthy.

[olfu]

Well, I guess I have to see it myself, 4 pages didn't clear anything for me.

Internet gives pretty  good impression about everything. 

[Stocky]

The only way to find out is go see for yourself.

 

Personally, I like Malaysia. I worked there for three years in the 90s and have been a regular visitor ever since; I have some good friends there.

[KC 71]

Penang is nice
Good food also


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[uzynkotak]

Following

[dddave]

On 10/18/2019 at 6:31 AM, olfu said:

Well, I guess I have to see it myself, 4 pages didn't clear anything for me.

Internet gives pretty  good impression about everything. 

I thought the 4 pages made it pretty clear.

Malaysia's can be a good place if you like a quiet, "live-let live" existence with some decent cultural distractions, diverse food and less bureaucratic red tape. 

Not the place for those who's social life revolves around beer bars/pubs, partying and a variety of available women.  Also not for those who's prejudices do not allow for any appreciation of diverse cultures.

It's telling that Malaysians flock to Thailand on weekends/holidays to party, then return to Malaysia to live their normal lives.

Edited October 30, 2019 by dddave

[scuba2day]

On 8/6/2019 at 7:54 AM, taiwanatoa said:

ou can get a 10 year visa. Period. Cost is 650RM

How could you possibly get a 10 year visa for 650 rm??

My mistake, it was actually 900RM. RM90 x 10 years

[taiwanatoa]

On 9/23/2019 at 7:34 PM, steven100 said:

been there many times …. the only good area is Butik Bitang where the expat bars are.

You are really showing your intellectual level. 

 

[taiwanatoa]

5 hours ago, scuba2day said:

My mistake, it was actually 900RM. RM90 x 10 years

No. Your " mistake " is in thinking that all we need to do in order to legally live in Malaysia for 10 years is to pay 900 RM for a visa. If that were all that was required then there would be millions of westerners going for it!  Do you not understand the requirements for the MM2H ?