Culture Project: Malaysia's Culture and Traditions Research (Essay Sample)

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Malaysia – An Asian Inspiration
Malaysia is situated on the north equator of Southeast Asia, which became an independent state in August 31, 1957. Since September 1963, the nation is a proud member of ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ formed by British in 1931. Due to its geographical positioning, the country falls in tropical latitudes that result in high temperatures with humidity, intense rainfalls and monsoons. Malaysia is covered with beautiful rainforests that envelop major portion of Sarawak and Sabah; the other segments comprise of swamp forests (WorldAtlas).
The historical architectures of Malaysia are combination of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures. Discussing, the Malay architectures represents tropical conditions within the country such as stilt-built dwellings for cross-ventilations and minimization of flood effect. The structures are built of hardwood and do not employ nails for construction ("Architecture | Tourism Malaysia").
The Chinese architectures comprise of indoor courtyards and multihued tiles, representing heritage of Baba-Nyonya. Simultaneously, the Indian cultures are defined through temples and vibrant designs of entire region. The Hindu temples are distinct from Sikhs, which marginally exist in entire population. However, Sikhs have built their temples on various locations within national boundaries ("Architecture | Tourism Malaysia").
Cultures & Traditions
The culture of Malaysia is extremely diverse, which has element of multiple Asian countries. During 15th century, large figure of Chinese merchants migrated and inhabited in Malacca and Penang. Regardless the factor of group diversity, the immigrants formed communities and initiated cultural influence within Malaysian boundaries. The group defines the region of Penang and Malacca through artifacts and lifestyles (Asian Inspirations).
During the same span, Indians and Pakistanis arrived to the land of Malaysia as labors. They initiated their work in coffee shops and agricultural farms. Like Chinese, these immigrants were settled temporarily until the period of World War II. Both colonizers formed separated communities and remained unabsorbed into broader culture (Asian Inspirations).
The rich history of Malaysian culture is preserved with utmost esteem in assorted museums throughout national boundary, particularly in Kuala Lumpur. The museums are filled with Islamic arts, Indian and Chinese artifacts, etc. However, there is still a significant linguistic barrier due to mixture of diverse cultures since 19th century.
Religions & Customs
Officially, Malaysia is an Islamic state that is followed by majority of population strictly. Islam is the religion that distinct Malay and non-Malay from society. According to Malaysian legislation, Malays are considered Muslims. The consideration is a primary reason for settled Pakistanis and tourists from Islamic states for comfortable stay and minimal religious restrictions.
The Chinese are first immigrants on Malaysian soil but does not have dominance in religion. Majority of them tend to follow Buddhism and Daoism without any significant influence on society. The Indian and Sri Lankan population situated in Malaysia tends to follow moral codes of Hinduism, which even has least religious dominance. A nominal proportion of society practices principles of Christianity, which includes Indians as well. Lastly, the Sikhs follow their values of Sikhism; however, the community belongs to Indian state namely Punjab.
Due to dominance of Islam and Muslims over Malaysian society, the rituals and customs are defined accordingly. The dressing of Malaysians is highly conservative, particularly in rural areas and worship buildings. Females are strictly advised to wear less revealing clothes publically, which should be covering shoulders and legs. Due to modernization and media exposure, the metropolitan regions such as Kuala Lumpur provide relaxation in attires. Gestures such as pointing finger and using left hand while eating and greeting are considered highly offensive and unethical respectively (Chris).
Food
According to (Calderon), the Malaysian food does not enjoy worldwide recognition among tourists and food critics, regardless its exquisite taste and sophisticated presentation. The author stated that numerous foods in Malaysia resemble Indonesian victuals. (Pearce) stated that Malaysian foods are spicy and stuffed with particular ingredients such as black pepper, lemongrass, lime and turmeric. As a Muslim state, pork is substituted by likes of beef, lamb and goats. People strongly prefer to consume seafood, mostly fish-oriented recipes. Malaysian cuisines become challenging for tourists that are vegetarian, since meat and seafood are widely preferred and consumed by Malaysians.
Languages
Similar to food, the linguistic resources of Malaysia are inspired by Indonesia. Officially, Malay is spoken across the nation that is akin to Indonesian language. However, English has declared mandatory to be taught in schools and educational institutions. English is widely used as a medium in metropolitan cities due to easiness and immense tourism. Since Malaysia is an Islamic state, Arabic is taught to children from religious perspective. Surprisingly, Malay language has most words taken from Arabic vocabulary. Telugu, Punjabi, Chinese and few other languages are also spoken as secondary (Gapyear.com).
Social & Welfare Issues
Due to intense tourism, migration, and exposure of media through technology, the family structure of Malaysia has altered over the span. In the modern era, the family structure has shrunk and affairs held by woman of the house. Further, the older people of the population face difficulties in allocating adequate degree of economic stability and depend on government support. The poor maintenance and support system has caused various health issues among elders such as stress and heart diseases. Besides the cost of medical services, the accessibility for this social class is not easier (Zainab and Wan-Ibrahim, 888-890).