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RE: A friendly place to live
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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 RE: A friendly place to live (in reply to Escribano)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JieXian
Yes, the ruling party, Islam Party of Malaysia at those states is not the the ruling party of the country for quite a long time, and hence the government spends less money on developing Kelantan and Terrengganu - which may be good news for you.
However I heard that few non-Muslims are seriously disturbed. And in some cases, they can be more tolerant in contrast to the people in Shah Alam.
Especially since you're a Westerner, you won't have many racial or religious problems directly affecting you but I was just describing the situation we have among ourselves.
At most, in those 2 states, I heard that women have to wear long sleeve shirts and pants.
The farther away from bigotry, obtrusiveness, slyness and dismiss of nature / animal torture, the better.
BTW, I read certain ways of dealing with stray dogs to exist in Malaysia too; which would be gunned groups frisking towns and shooting the animals.
( There was a stray dog that used to hide himself on an empty lot beside my house.
Outstandingly intelligent already since his times as a solitary puppy. During the last "cleaning operation", which meant a group of "cleaners" shooting around in this village with small caliber rifles every night for 6 consecutive days or so, collecting carcasses on trucks like bricks, I once saw him bringing with himself another six or seven dogs for hiding away. Totally silently like shadows they flit and crawled beneath the gate into the lot, one after the other.
However, behind the lots wall, on a neighbour´s yard there live big German Schnautzer dogs and one small lap-dog.
While the schnauzers remained completely still [ remarkable anyway, how all the inclosed dogs of the village kept quiet throughout the terror period, with only every other time briefly sounding as if for to warn the strays like "Watch out, they are around here!") the lap-dog started barking like mad, obviously intending to reveal the refugees.
He wouldn´t stop, until the refugees decided to leave again. [ Last in line, a huge beautiful German shepperd, apparently fearing to lose connection, panicked and finally freed himself with a desperate tremendous jump over the wall. Heartbreaking to watch.]
How that scenery with that barking lap-dog reminded me of merciless informers during the Third Reich ... How inferiour characters, sheltered themselves as privileged of a regime, increase their sudden gloating by denouncing the hunted.
After that week all strays had disappeared, leaving me with a pity feeling, about all of these creatures, but especially about that one dog. Who clever enough to survive solely, obviously had tried to help out a bunch of fellow hounds too.
The massacre routine must have been some 8 months or more ago.
And last week I saw him again, still alive, the Zorro of the dogs. Reeled in, covert behind a piece of long gras on the lot beside my house.)
As I conclude, human species without the help of wolves, then dogs would had not survived the defiles of the past tenthousands of years, yet men fails to show remotely appropriate appreciation. Starting with involuntarily mistreating pet lovers who never ever cared to learn about the demands and means of communication of their pets, up to massive cruelty routinely excerted, especially in ( South-East ) Asia.
And in between the contempt of the muslim wolrd. Just because whoever haphazard mind once pleased to categorize dogs as unholy.
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As you mentioned eastern Malaysia to be muslim, I guess Seri Tanjung Penang to be under corresponding mentality too, right?
Ruphus
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Date Mar. 6 2011 10:30:26
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: A friendly place to live (in reply to BarkellWH)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWH
Javanese (or any other Muslim, for that matter) would not refer to the call to prayer as singing, however, although it does sound like a chant. And the shifting quarter tones are what make it so haunting. What the Muezzin is calling out in Arabic (It is always in Arabic) is: La Ilaha Illa Allah, Muhammad Rasul Allah (There is no god but God, Muhammad is the profit of God).
I'm pretty sure I would recognize the call to prayer. This seemed to be someting else. It went on for quite a long time, and it had a much wider vocabulary than the call to prayer.
Talking it over with my Javanese guide, though he didn't hear it, from my description his suggestion was that the muezzin was chaning prayers, not the call to prayer.
RNJ
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Date Mar. 6 2011 19:27:35
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JieXian
Posts: 86
Joined: Aug. 8 2010
From: Malaysia
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RE: A friendly place to live (in reply to Ruphus)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Ruphus
As you mentioned eastern Malaysia to be muslim, I guess Seri Tanjung Penang to be under corresponding mentality too, right?
Ruphus
The dog catchings I've heard of happen around KL/Selangor, however I've never actually seen or know someone who seen things happening. I asked my father if this happens often, and he doesn't know. I've got a feeling it doesn't. I really don't know much about it though, except stories about someone's dog running lose and getting caught/shot, catching a lot of dogs from an island and abandoning them on an deserted island... But of course that's probably because I don't live in places with a high population of Malays.
Not every Malay hates dogs like that. Many, especially the rich, have even have a proud display of liquor at home, and are not shy to hide it.
I googled "Seri Tanjung Penang" and found "Seri Tanjung Pinang, Penang". Penang should be a very nice place, and it's under the opposition for now and there are a lot of Chinese there. I even saw 2 Indian men talking to each other in Hokkien when I was there. I think it would be a good place for you. A lot of good cheap street food there with a very competent state government.
Though Penang is on the western part, I don't know if you meant another place. The eastern parts that are more muslim influenced only refer to Kelantan and Terengganu. However as I said earlier, we generally think that they can be somewhat more tolerant in certain ways. I've never heard anything else from them besides the having to wear long sleves.
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Date Mar. 10 2011 2:30:10
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: A friendly place to live (in reply to Escribano)
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Thank you Xian, for explaining.
Good to hear that Penang is opposition.
The day before yesterday, in German news it was reported on a survey among people in 28 countries.
People there were asked about a ranking of the places they thought to be best for to live in.
It was said that no.1 in the list became Germany. ( As least appealing of all - on last three positions - Pakistan, Iran and North Korea.)
As reason for why Germany became first, people seem to have mentioned that Germans ought to be honest, reliable and studious at how they work, with products from there being considered most sought after in the world.
( Indeed, it is incredible to see the huge number of fake goods and plagiates sold here, that have "Made in Germany" imprinted [ branded with wannabe names like "Siemons", "Simens" etc.])
What I find remarkable is that other criteria like say educational level, price level, wellfare, wheather, landscape or food ( which all can be had more attractive / advanced elsewhere ) stood behind, and that the interviewed seem to have regarded the aspects of honesty and reliability as of prime importance.
This must be confirming my personal observation that culture ( in the sense of wisdom, social being and general knowledge ) and ethics are being on a steep decline worldwide.
And while it almost appeared to me as if majorities would be just accepting the trend ( elderly ) or not even be aware of it ( the young ), this late survey indicates that the people seem to in fact feel affected by mentalities status quo; so much that they put ethics as first on their wish list.
Being away from Germany for over three years now, I hear from my friends, that the mentality there is further drastically changing too.
Though still uncomparable to what I had to experience abroad, social and ethical standards in Germany are on the move.
Starting from apathy among aquintances and relatives, over rising private unfairness, to a distinctive development of industrial policies.
Yet beyond the bold expansion of corruption, cartells, nepotism and looting of states properties of past decades, combines in Germany have arranged procedures and laws to their own impunity paradise.
Like the Telecom for instance who on default sends out monthly bills randomly over dues fo an altogether 20 to 30% over actually accountable service amount. ( With the reliable outcome that only very few private customers will realize the botch, with again the least of them succeeding with complains, as the Telecome will then allow itself to inquire elaborate proof procedure from the customer. And if the customer in the end manages to proof the invoice manipulation, the Telecom will not be held responsible for the intention / with the law providing computing mistake as default causa.)
Similar situation for all other kinds of combines settled on routingly defrauding at legislators permission.
Energy combines who charge permanently increasing fantasy tarifs; banking, insurance and pharmaceutical companies who established incredible one-way contract policies of gutting the people without accountability through regulation and law.
From there the cultural tendency in Germany, unlike the situation in some other countries ( as I see it ), is indicated the most by its upper caste´s unscrupulousness and irresponsibility, far ahead before common people´s standards.
Anyway, I do hope that the awareness and striving displayed in the above mentioned survey to be forerunner for an overdue worldwide reconsideration on level and tendency of culture.
Ruphus
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Date Mar. 10 2011 10:34:10
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: A friendly place to live (in reply to Escribano)
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It´s true, one can´t leave his head behind.
And at times, intenting to try still, I wouldn´t think of switching locations; instead seeked for distraction like with plans to stay away from daily news ( which wouldn´t hold for longer than a week or two, though ).
Yet, I think that ambience can make a difference to personal daily life.
For, at least to me it seems that there would be an empirical difference, whether living in a mentality where accountability would be delegated to some external metaphysical instance ( "freeing" people from responsibility of intent and action ) or in a mentality where accountability was still understood as mainly determined by the individual.
Some of you sound as if conditions where the same everywhere. That is not true at all.
The proportion of superstition, the measure of suspension of personal responsibility, and the individual model of superstition doctrin make hell off a difference to a mentality in question.
The honesty which people seem to have honoured in above mentioned survey has a lot to do with state of wordly education, farsightedness, deconstrutivism and a basically democratic perception.
Thelike cultural peculiarities have been the background for a mentaility that for instance allowed those newspaper-selling boxes we used to have in Germany ( from which one could had potentially taken the newspaper without throwing in due coins ).
Devices that would had been pointless in many mentalities, in the past, let alone these days.
You might claim that there would be no difference to individual experiences ( daily life ) with ethics in different places. That in the end there were no differences between a place like where I´m now and say average mentalities in places like Norway, New Zealand or Canada.
But, I for my part am definitly fed up by concrete ways of culture that allow whatever spontaneous interpretation to demand, consequently routined lying, betrayal and stealing as a self-evident option to make use of without second thoughts. ( Doing whatever it takes without getting sleepless on it.)
By now, it has cost me just too much of misused faith and budget to keep trying come along with what is.
Further, I find myself busy enough that I could do without tiresome and utterly trivial occupation of keeping eyes on spirits around who believe some supernatural instance entitled them to make their own what yet belongs to others. And who can´t ever rise above such lowly deem, radically independently of your foregoing approach.
Some here pointed out already that having a stay somewhere for a while is one thing; and that living there can be a whole other beast.
And in some places it will mean inevitable discovery of unspeakable attitude in life. At times to a degree you would had truely imagined not possible on a wider range, eventhough thinking to have seen more than a little of mother earth.
Having said that, I am not assuming to have proceeded perfectly. The less as actually being a die hard believer in reason, which admittedly is a handicap with immediate dealings.
From there I would had sincerely liked to see one of the "it´s basically same everywhere" fraction, in my shoes.
Provided same place, same budget, same language skills etc. ... With me returning after two years to see how he´d be doing.
( With anti-depressiva or a straitjacket in the luggage; just in case that he could be needing any such. ;O/ )
BTW, gotta go, take my meds. :OP
Ruphus
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Date Mar. 11 2011 11:54:21
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