My sister in law might have to move to Malaysia for a couple of years for work. Anybody live there or been there? Do they really enforce Sharia law? Is it safe? Is it fun? Pros and cons?
Which part of Malaysia is she moving to? My girlfriend is Malaysian. It is a Muslim country, but not as strict a country like Iran, where all women have to be covered up. There are a couple of states where women are required to wear long sleeves and pants, but it's not too bad. If your sister-in-law is going there for work, we are guessing she'll be based in Kuala Lumpur, a pretty modern city. It is a safe country (no riots and such at all) and the food and people are wonderful. Weather is hot and humid all year long. Let us know which part of Malaysia she'll be in and we can give you more input. My girlfriend is from Sarawak, and she loves KL too. There are a lot of resort cities around the country and prices are much cheaper than the U.S.
I lived in Kuala Lumpur for 2 years... besides the monsoon season - it was fantastic - very modern. be sure to visit genting highlands...
my sister and family lived on the east coast ( i think kuantan - sp?) for a while. this was about 7 years ago. she was allowed to even wear shorts in her city. the only thing i didn't like was that there is a casino (genting highlands?) where they took me once when i visited. well apparently they have a dress code of either a sports jacket or a "haiwaiin" type shirt which of course they force you to buy for about $20... but definitely was not a strict country compared to many... (at least not 7 years ago)
I'm from Malaysia, a non muslim, currently living in Kuala Lumpur. As in all big city, just use some precautions when walking around, normal stuff like don't walk alone at night etc. Off the top of my head, Pros: - Weather is between 24celsius - 33 celsius all year long, with thunderstorm in the afternoon most of the time during end of the year. - It's a muslim country but the muslim law doesn't affect non-muslim. - You could get all sorts of entertainmnet here. Bars are plentiful, although the price might be high if compare to US. - If you are earning USD, you could live like a king there. - Shops open late. you could have tea at 2 am at the Indian-Muslim (what we called "mamak") stall. - A variety of foods, as it is a multi-ethnic country. You could get Malays food, Indian food, chinese food, Japanese... etc cons: - Crime rate is high. Especially snatch thief. Make sure your sister in law don't walk around road shoulder with her handbag hanging out. The thief ride in motor bike and snatch the shoulder bag. - Taxi driver sucks, i think malaysia has the worst tax driver in the world. Be sure to haggle the price because if they see you are foreigner(caucasian, blacks) they would jack up the price. Although meters are installed in all the taxi, some don't use it Another one that I don't know whether is pros or cons, if you get in trouble with the traffic police, you could bribe your way out...
The dress code are not enforced anymore. It used to be you need to have formal wear or a "batik" shirt but I guess the casinos become more modern and don't enforce that rule anymore.
I've visited Malaysia several times and they don't enforce Sharia law, as far as I can tell. I think as a foreigner, and I presume a non-Muslim, your sister should be fine. Agree with the other posters that the weather is tropical and the food is great.
By looking at his name in his profile, I think he's Muslim. And from past threads, he said he's an Ismaili Muslim, which is more liberal than other sects of Islam.
nice looking out dude. yup me as well my sis in law are ismaili muslims. would that matter over there?
I was there earlier this summer and have freinds there. It's both safe and fun. You're not subject to Sharia unless you are Malaysian-born Muslim, and even then it is pretty incredibly lax.
sunnis and shias don't generally take well to shia imamis ismailis... im not going to delve into that.
ismailis are a subsect of shias. and i am fully aware that traditional sunnis are not too fond of us, but does that matter in malaysia?
I do not think that it does. I have been to Malaysia twice. From what I have seen, it's pretty diverse. You should be able to blend right in. As others have said, plenty of good cheap food all over the place. Make sure to try Asam Laksa, Tom Yum, Nasi Lemak, and Satay. Make sure to have Satay at HJ. Sahmuri. It's a chain and they specialize in chicken, beef, rabbit, and deer satays. I can recommend you this other really great restaurant named "Nailis" It's near Summit Mall. You can reserve a table above glass floor on top of stream with fish etc. Great food, huge portions and mega sized drinks.
I'm Malaysian and I've lived in Malaysia for most part of my life. the weather can be really humid sometimes but you'll get accustomed to it after awhile. The food here is pretty awesome and you get a wide range of cuisines as well. There's loads of clubs and night life is pretty interesting especially near the city center.
I believe Malaysia does not practise Shariah Law and they have been rather lax on religions considering that their populations are formed by 3 different ethnicities. Us Chinese normally look into 4 main categories when talking about living standards: Clothes I think Westerners normally don't care much about this. In K.L., some Islamic ladies will wear long sleeves and covered their faces but more don't. So I guess it depends on the practice of your sister-in-law's faction. Food It's what I love Malaysia most. The curries, satay, nasi lemak (SP??) and Chinese fried noodles are my favourites. Some Western fastfood chains like KFC, Mcdonalds, Dunkin' Donuts etc can be easily found in K.L. Accommodation K.L. is modern no doubt. I think the company your sister-in-law works for should have arranged properly. Typically, you will have Chinese Districts, Indian Districts and Malay Districts, not sure if there exist any Westerner/Foreigner District or not. Transportation It could be a bit worrisome as a commuter in K.L. The traffic conditions could be very annoying (think about their government decided to move all the major government offices to a new developed area a couple years ago). Like other posters mentioned, their taxi drivers are notorious. If your sister-in-laws drives, their cars are right-steering. In general, it's a comfortable place to live and work. It's safe from tourist view but burglaries did happen at neighborhoods. There was once I stay at K.L., lived at one of my relatives' home, and all of our sneakers were stolen overnight.
From my experience this seems to be the case but varies within the Malay states. I think there is an expectation of Muslims to follow Sharia law, for women to dress modestly and wear a Hijab, but its not strictly enforced. I think if your sister is in KL she should be OK without a Hijab as long as she otherwise dresses modestly.
