Malaysia
LGBT rights are not recognized in Malaysia. The nation retains its colonial era penal code criminalizing sodomy. Social attitudes towards the LGBT community are also shaped by Islam, the official religion in Malaysia. Just recently the police prohibited a Pride Event. There are a number of gay bars, clubs, disco’s, spa’s and saunas for you to explore. Many come and go, but there will always be some for the gay tourist. The Islam police tend to leave the tourists alone, so do not worry about intimidated.
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Malaysia Travel Tips
An Introduction
Peninsular Malaysia (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia) occupies all of the Malay Peninsula between Thailand and Singapore, and is also known as West Malaysia (Malaysia Barat) or the slightly archaic Malaya (Tanah Melayu). It is home to the bulk of Malaysia’s population, its capital and largest city Kuala Lumpur, and is generally more economically developed. Within Peninsular Malaysia, the West Coast is more developed and urbanised, and separated from the more rural East Coast by a mountain range – the Titiwangsa. Some 800km to the east is East Malaysia (Malaysia Timur), which occupies the northern third of the island of Borneo, shared with Indonesia and tiny Brunei. Partly covered in impenetrable jungle where headhunters roam (on GSM networks if nothing else), East Malaysia is rich in natural resources but very much Malaysia’s hinterland for industry and tourism.
The Gay Scene
LGBT rights are not recognized in Malaysia. The nation retains its colonial era penal code criminalizing sodomy. Social attitudes towards the LGBT community are also shaped by Islam, the official religion in Malaysia.A recent LGBT Event was cancelled by the police. There are some gay bars, discos, spas, saunas, and it seems tourists and expats are not bothered by the police.
Climate
The climate in Malaysia is tropical. The north-east monsoon (October to February) deluges Borneo and the east coast in rain and often causes flooding, while the west coast (particularly Langkawi and Penang) escape unscathed. The milder south-west monsoon (April to October) reverses the pattern. The southern parts of peninsular Malaysia, including perennially soggy Kuala Lumpur, are exposed to both but even during the rainy season, the showers tend to be intense but brief.
Shopping
Malaysia offers visitors a myriad of opportunities to shop, from the latest designer brands and electronic hardware to elegant Malay garments and meticulously hand-crafted wooden baskets. The best places to do modern shopping are in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi while those after cultural handicrafts should visit Malacca and the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Banking
Malay banks are fast and efficient – most of the banks participating in modern banking features such as Internet banking and cellphone banking have branches in hundreds of provincial cities and even larger villages all over the Philippines. Access is easy and all bank employees far above average friendly and helpful !! Banks are open from Monday to Friday between 9:00 am and 4:30 pm. Cashpoints (ATMs) are available at all times. Major currencies can be exchanged in most banks, money changers and hotels. If cashing Travelers checks you will require your passport. Almost all hotels and other businesses will accept foreign currency, but be warned hotels usually charge a lower rate of exchange than offered by Banks or Money Changers.
Immigration
Most nationalities can enter Malaysia without a visa, and they would be issued a 14, 30 or 90 day entry permit stamp on their passport. This would indicate the length of stay granted. In addition, no visa is required for U.S.A. citizens visiting Malaysia for social, business or academic purposes (except for employment). No visa is required for a stay of less than one month for nationals of all ASEAN countries except Myanmar. For a stay exceeding one month a visa will be required, except for nationals of Brunei and Singapore.
Traveling To Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur is major international transport hub served by many airlines, trains from Thailand and Singapore and numerous cruise lines,
Getting About
Travel within Malaysia is not difficult, there are all kinds of transportation available to tourist and locals: Airplanes and ferries for inter-island transfers, trains, buses & taxis ply in major cities all over the Malay Peninsula.
Electrical Appliances
Malaysia uses type G electrical plugs with a voltage of 240V at 50 Hz.
Tipping
In Malaysia, Malaysians do not tip and they do not expect to be tipped either. Unlike the American model, where a waiter or waitress starts with a lower basic and earn from tips 15-17% of bill before tax or 20% at a 5-star restaurant. Malaysian waiters receive a higher fixed basic pay. There is a service charge of 10% charged into the bill in major restaurant establishments in Malaysia, although this may not necessary be passed on to the wait staff. There is also a 5% government tax on the bill. However, this has never stopped some locals from leaving the loose change behind or leaving behind RM2 to RM10 Ringgit, if he is happy about the service or feels like it. This does not happen in the local hawker stall or lower establishment restaurants. The point to remember is that it is not expected. Taxi drivers, hairdressers, shampooer, pizza delivery person or furniture delivery do not need to be tipped either or do they expect so. The only exception to this is bellhop or room service at the hotels where you are encouraged to tip from anything between RM2 to RM10.
Malaysia Tourist Attractions
Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations, first developed by the British in the 1920s. It has a population of more than 34,000 people consisting of Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups. The Cameron Highlands is renowned for its trails. They lead visitors through the forest to waterfalls and other tranquil spots. Apart from its jungle walks, the sanctuary is also known for its tea plantations and visitors can book several “tea factory” tours.
Georgetown, named after Britain’s King George III is located on the north-east corner of Penang Island. Most of George Town’s population is of Chinese origin. Due to strict controls, George Town retains many of its colonial-era shophouses to this day. It is officially recognized as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in Southeast Asia. The town truly springs to life in the evenings, when most of the locals head to the nearby street hawkers to have their meals and drinks.
Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea, Malaysia’s best-known holiday destination. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. By far the largest of the islands is the eponymous Pulau Langkawi with a population of about 65,000, the only other inhabited island being nearby Pulau Tuba. Fringed with long, white beaches and with an interior of jungle covered hills and craggy mountain peaks, it’s easy to see why this is Malaysia’s most heavily promoted tourist destination. The most popular beaches can be found on the west coast with a wide choice of restaurants and eateries and some of the best resorts in Langkawi.
Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Borneo, with a summit height at 4,095 meters (13,435 ft). The mountain is known worldwide for its tremendous botanical and biological species biodiversity. Over 600 species of ferns, 326 species of birds, and 100 mammalian species have been identified at Mount Kinabalu and its surrounding. The main peak of the mountain can be climbed easily by a person with a good physical condition, and requires no mountaineering equipment although climbers must be accompanied by guides at all times.
Mulu Caves are located in the Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysian Borneo. The park encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The Sarawak chamber found in one of the underground caves is the largest cave chamber in the world. It has been said that the chamber is so big that it could accommodate about 40 Boeing 747s, without overlapping their wings. The enormous colony of Wrinkle-lipped bats in the nearby Deer Cave exit almost every evening in search of food in a spectacular exodus.
Perhentian Islands are the must-go place in Malaysia for budget travelers. They have some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and great diving with plenty of cheap accommodation. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar (“Big Perhentian”) and Perhentian Kecil (“Small Perhentian”). Both the islands have palm-fringed white sandy beaches and turquoise blue sea. Located off the coast of northeastern Malaysia not far from the Thai border.
Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur were the world’s tallest buildings before being surpassed in 2004 by Taipei 101. However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. The 88-floor towers are constructed largely of reinforced concrete, with a steel and glass facade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia’s Muslim religion. The Petronas Twin Towers feature a sky bridge between the two towers on the 41st and 42nd floors.
Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation opened in 1964 for rescued orphaned baby orangutans from logging sites, plantations and illegal hunting. The orphaned orangutans are trained to survive again in the wild and are released as soon as they are ready. The Orang Utan sanctuary is located within the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, much of which is virgin rainforest. About 60 to 80 orangutans are living free in the reserve. It is one of Sabah’s top tourist attractions and a great stopover on any Malaysia itinerary.
Taman Negara, which literally means “national park” in Malay, is one of the oldest tropical rain forest in the world. It features massive trees, waterfalls, jungle treks of various duration and the world’s longest canopy walkways. Several trails enable the visitor to explore the forest without a guide. Taman Negara is a haven for endangered species such as the Asian elephant, tigers, leopards and rhinos, but numbers are low and sightings are very rare. It’s unlikely that you will see anything more than birds, small deer, lizards, snakes and perhaps a tapir.
Tioman is a small island located off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. In the 1970s, Time Magazine selected Tioman as one of the world’s most beautiful islands. Tourists have surged to the island ever since, seeking a taste of paradises. The island is surrounded by numerous white coral reefs, making it a haven for scuba divers while the interior is densely forested. Visitors outnumber villagers outside the monsoon (November to February), but Tioman can be virtually deserted at other times.
Malaysia History
Before the rise of the European colonial powers, the Malay peninsula and the Malay archipelago were home to empires such as the Srivijaya, the Majapahit (both ruled from Indonesia) and the Melaka Sultanate. The Srivijaya and Majapahit empires saw the spread of Hinduism to the region, and to this day, despite being nominally Muslim, many Hindu legends and traditions survive in tradtional Malay culture. Mass conversion to Islam only occurred after the arrival of Arab traders during the Melaka Sultanate.
This was to change in the 16th century when the Portuguese established the first European colony in Southeast Asia by defeating the Melaka Sultanate. The Portuguese subsequently then lost Malacca to the Dutch. The British also establised their first colony on the Malay peninsula in Penang in 1786, when it was ceded by the Sultan of Kedah. Finally, the area was divided into Dutch and British spheres of influence with the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty in 1824. With this treaty, the Dutch agreed to cede Malacca to the British and in return, the British ceded all their colonies on Sumatra to the Dutch. The line which divided the Malay world into Dutch and British areas roughly corresponds to what is now the border between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Before World War II, the Malay Peninsula was governed by the British as the Federated Malay States (Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang), which were governed as a single entity, the Unfederated Malay States (Johor, Kedah, Perlis, Terengganu and Kelantan), which were each governed as separate protectorates, and the Straits Settlements (including Malacca, Penang and Singapore), which were crown colonies. Northern Borneo consisted of the British colony of North Borneo, the Kingdom of Sarawak, which was ruled by a British family known as the “White Rajas”, and the British protectorate of Brunei.
World War II was disastrous for the British Malayan Command. The Japanese swept down both coasts of the Malay Peninsula and despite fierce fighting, much of the British military was tied down fighting the Germans in Europe and those that remained in Malaya simply could not cope with the Japanese onslaught. The British military equipment left to defend Malaya were outdated and no match for the modern ones used by the Japanese, while the only two battleships based in the region, the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, were sank by Japanese bombers off the East Coast of Malaya. By 31 January 1942, the British had been pushed all the way back to Singapore, which also fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942. The situation was no different on Borneo, which fell to the Japanese on 1 April 1942 after months of fierce fighting.
After World War II, the Federated Malay States, Unfederated Malay States and the Straits Settlements of Malacca and Penang were federated to form a single British colony known as the Malayan Union, with Singapore splitting off to form a separate colony. In the Malayan Union, the sultans of the various states ceded all their powers except those in religious affairs to the British crown. However, widespread opposition to the Malayan Union led the British to reconsider their position, and in 1948, the Malayan Union was replaced by the Federation of Malaya, in which the executive positions of the sultans were restored. In Borneo, the White Rajas ceded Sarawak to the British crown in 1946, making it a crown colony of the United Kingdom.
Malaya gained independence from the British in 1957. The Union Jack was lowered and the first Malayan flag was raised in the Merdeka (independence) Square on midnight 31st August 1957.
Six years later, Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963 through a merging of Malaya and Singapore, as well as the East Malaysian states of Sabah (known then as North Borneo) and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo, with Brunei deciding not to join. The first several years of the country’s history were marred by the Indonesian confrontation (konfrontasi) as well as claims to Sabah from the Philippines. Singapore was expelled from the federation on 9 August 1965 after several bloody racial riots, as its majority Chinese population and the influence of the People’s Action Party led by Lee Kuan Yew (later the long-ruling Prime Minister of Singapore) were seen as a threat to Malay dominance, and it became a separate country.
