Freedom of speech is a privilege, not a right. Though technically a democracy, Malaysia has never had a change of government since independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. The dominant party represents ethnic Malays, with other parties representing ethnic Chinese and Indians, plus some other minor parties and independents. The government is made of a coalition of ethno-centric political parties. China’s Las Vegas and its ‘maverick’ Irishģ.Irishwoman in Bali: ‘Living in paradise has its downsides’.Other ethnicities wishing to live in these areas have to rent, since they can't legally own their homes. Where I live that figure is closer to 95 per cent. Almost one-third of the land in Malaysia is classed as Malay-Reserve and can only be owned by Malays. For example - everyone has freedom of religion, except ethnic Malays who have to be Muslim. Malaysia is ethnically diverse and being a member of a given ethnic group confers advantages and disadvantages. All Malaysians are equal, but some are more equal than others. Here are some of the things I’ve learned about Malaysia during the past decade of living here. In my spare time I fit in a bit of writing short stories and reviewing books for a Malaysian newspaper. She was the only reason I chose Malaysia, her home country.Īfter a few years in Kuala Lumpur we moved to the island of Langkawi, where we live in semi-seclusion teaching yoga and meditation. There were others paths too, but I took the one that led to the woman who would later become my wife. I wasn’t sure if the bridge could be repaired, or more to the point, whether “relatively content” was a worthy aspiration.Īnother road led back to Ireland, but I had spent my entire adult life in self-imposed exile, and a retreat seemed like admitting defeat. On the opposite bank lay a place where my younger self had been relatively content. I knew this having travelled it as far as I could go.Īnother road led to a partially burned bridge.
When I first came to Malaysia I was at a crossroads in my life a dusty crossroads in Southern India to be precise.
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