Colors of Malaysia

For 12 years now, the Malaysian Tourism Ministry has been doing an event they call "Colours of Malaysia" (Citrawarna Malaysia in Malay). It's a culmination of the many different things that tourists are encouraged to see or experience for themselves when they set foot in in the Malaysian soil. The title of the event promised colours, and colours the event brought. I was just in awe of how well they managed the event and was amazed by the spectacle that happened before my very eyes.

So it was a weekend. The weather was itself: changing constantly. Morning was sunny then it rained in the afternoon. Good thing the event was in the evening when finally the god of the rain felt like resting.

Foreign dignitaries from all over the world were invited to the event. Special seats were allocated to the tourists and foreigners, but I chose to seat with the locals, the general public. The announcer promised to give the audience the night of our lives with 7000+ performers from all over Malaysia (peninsular and Bornean Malaysia both) of various background contributed their talents to the event.
And then it began, high school bands spearheaded the three-hour long parade that made all eyes glued to the tarpaulined street in front of the majestic Abdul Samad Building of the Ministry of Communication. The changing lights of the building that served as the background set the mood. The people of different walks of life, with cameras in their hands, clicked and snapped at every performance they see, every flicker of fireworks display, and every float that passed by.

The parade was thematically-arranged. It started with what else but the airport. Where millions of tourists every year arrive at. Malaysia has had good share of tourist arrival ever since. Its Malaysia truly Asia campaign has been most effective in alluring tourists to experience the promise of a truly Asia vacation. Aside from the campaign, infrastructure development has also contributed to how they boosted their tourism industry. Airports are linked to the city by buses and trains regularly travelling to and from the airport for the people's travel luxuries. Bus terminals were improved and widened and walkways connecting different tourist spots in the city were erected to provide leisurely and hassle-free holidays for the visiting tourists.

Chidren of Malaysia

Tourist information centers and free maps were made available in all corners of Kuala Lumpur making sure that no tourist is lost or put into harm's way. They boast of these developments and they should, because they've really done a good job, which is what the Colours of Malaysia was all about: to market their products, to encourage people to come and to essentially boost up the local economy and people's tourism-related livelihood. These messages were clear, something which I think other countries can learn from (including my country). The performance was Broadway as they celebrate city life and the convenience of Kuala Lumpur as a global city of outstanding dimensions.

The next part was the nature theme with a float depicting divers celebrating the mega diverse marine life of Malaysian seas. Rafflessia and orangutans mascots on the side of the float represented the vast flora and fauna found in the tropical forests of Malaysia. The audience was treated to a performance magical fairies of the forest like some hundred tinker bells dancing to nature-themed music with the alluring voice of a Malaysian singer serenading us. It was spectacular. I almost felt like I was watching a Mardigras in Malaysia.

Next came the local culture theme. The balay kampong song (village house), a local song was heard all over the grounds with locals singing along. They presented their home stay program where tourists can experience how to live among the village folks for a week to a year through their various programs. The promise was to experience a life away from the hassle and bustle of the city. Where tourists can go fishing and swimming in the rivers, plant and harvest rice in the paddy fields, cook and eat local dishes, fly kites (wau) among with local children and live in huts like the local does. Performances of harvest festivals from the Orang Asli, Sabah and Sarawak indigenous people's group filled the streets with merrymaking and chanting of thanking the gods for their harvest. The performers were wearing garments made of coconut leaves; tree barks dyed abaca headpieces and accessories made of seeds and animal bones. People stomped their feet to the beat of the earth as the dancers call on the spirits of the forests to offer their harvests.

Since Malaysia has for hundreds of years been under colonization, the next them was heritage. The rich culture of baba nyonya (Chinese-Malays) of the Straits settlement was celebrated with hundreds of students dressed up in traditional baba nyonya costume paraded the streets. The Eurasians of the Portuguese settlement in Melaka also joined in the celebration with their own kind of dancing. Floats of familiar landmarks like the Melaka house, Melaka church, Penang's Georgetown and others were also paraded while hundreds of colorful and lit-up beca (trishaw) followed the float. Surely, colonization brought more colors to the already colorful Malaysia.

After the heritage came sports and leisure where they presented the many Asian and world sports competition held in Malaysia. Also came the shopping where they boasted of sales and promotions year-round with every brand of luxury goods as well as low-priced goods are available in Kuala Lumpur and other major cities.
The last two parts which I think were the highlight of the parade were the food theme celebrating the diversity of food culture and taste of Malaysia because of its many cultures and influences; and the people and culture theme which presented the celebration of diversity of people's cultures, festivals and traditions: Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indigenous people, Christians/Eurasians.

For the food part, hundreds of chefs and hcef wannabes paraded carts of different foods of Malaysia. Malay food (nasi goreng, nasi lemak, sate, oxtail soup) Chinese food (kwae teow, noodles, dimsums) Indian food (curries, briyani rice, naans), Western food (pastas and pizzas and burgers) and Middle Eastern food (kebabs and goat and sheep dishes).

For the people and culture part, each of the group presented a festival for which it is known for. The Malays presented their Hari Raya Idil Fitri festival (New Year and Christmas) where kids in traditional Malay costumes holding colorful cube-like props danced to the local Malay rhythm. The Chinese group danced the Lion and dragon dance all in massive red colours as they celebrate the Chinese New Year. Fireworks followed afterwards. The Indigenous groups of Sabah and Sarawak danced their harvest festival and thanksgiving for the good year they had. The Indian communities depicted their celebration of Thaipusam and Deepavali with fully-costumed Kerala traditional dancers and float-carriers Tamil dancers circled the streets with merriment. The Christian communities depicted the Western style of Christmas and New Year through a Broadway-like presentation.

When the performance was done, I thought the program was over. But a little while after, all the performers went back to the grounds as they danced to the beat of the tourism jingle of Malaysia. The tourists were glad to join them to the dance and the street was just filled with colors and happy aces and never-ending merrymaking fit for a celebration of massive exuberance. It was a night to remember indeed. I walked around the streets after the performance trying to take shots of the performers smiling and happily hugging each other for a job they've done very well.

I too was glad for having experienced the Colours of Malaysia. It was something I was something I would always remember as part of my cultural experiences during the exchange. No wonder Malaysia has been very successful in their tourism campaigns. They showcase what they have and they celebrate their differences as an integral part of the culture of Malaysia living up to its claim of one that is truly Asia.

Holiday Hullabaloos

I used to believe that Philippines has one of the most number of holidays in the world. Being a Christian country full of Catholic traditions, a calendar would be filled with dates in red letter declaring holidays for almost all reasons: birthdays and deaths of heroes, birthday and death of Jesus Christ, freedom and fall in the revolution, independence and dependence of the country and things alike. If you were enrolled in a Catholic school, you would expect more holidays based on birthdays and canonizations of saints that are part of the Order by which your school is under. It's a real treat for students.

That view still stands until today but was a little weakened when I learned of Malaysian holidays. Being a multicultural country, one expects traditions and beliefs to be honored by holidays, lots of them actually. And these holidays come in all forms and nature: religious, national, state-level, birthdays, anniversaries and others.

In this entry, I hope to explore the reasons behind the good number of holidays and how it reflects Malaysian society in general. These of course are mere perceptions from a third person/ visitor/ temporary dweller in Malaysia. So here they go:

Multiculturalism
Generally it's multiculturalism that makes it all possible. There would be no reason to celebrate all forms of festivals if there aren't as many different cultures that happened to coexist in this Peninsula.

Malaysia is composed of three major races: Malays, Chinese and Indian, in order of size of population. Aside from them, there are migrant workers and expats who have found their home in Malaysia.

The source of multiculturalism can be traced back to trades among the Asian nations and colonization of nothing less than three European superpowers during 15th to 20th century: the Dutch, Portuguese, British; and one Asian superpower: Japan.

sculptures of colonizers in a museum in Melaka

Migration Patterns
Indians were brought to Malaya by the British to work as plantation workers in the vast rubber plantations. The local Malay population did not suffice the workforce needed for the plantation, an endeavor to support the British economy as it conquered lands and territories and involve in war. But prior to that, Indians were already trading with Southeast Asia, and Malaya (Melaka) is especially one identified trade route. I know this because I work with Indians and this is part of the hisotry of the co-operative I'm posted in.

Chinese migrants were mostly merchants and traders who had interactions with Malaya and the greater Southeast Asia prior to European colonization. Arab migration was a result of the Islamic missions made to spread Islamism from the Middle East to the rest of the Asian region.

At present migration patterns are mostly due to its thriving and open economy with migrant workers from neighboring countries Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar (refugees), Indonesia (mostly domestic workers) and the Philippines.

Arab migration is currently taking a new wave with Iranians coming in the country for investments. There is also a noticeable migration of Nigerians to the country for employment purposes.

So you can just imagine the cultural convergence that may occur when all these people celebrate their own "things".

Just this month for example, I experienced three major holidays. One is New Year; another is Chinese New Year (which officially just two days but most Chinese shops were closed the whole week); and Pongal (the Tamil harvest festival dedicated to Suria or the Goddess of Sun). Fireworks, food and prayer. A pretty good combination for the holidays.

Pongal celebration infront of the office

History
It's been mentioned above that Malaysia has undergone long periods of colonization and whenever there is colonization, there will always be introduction of not just physical changes to the country but cultural changes. Colonization has always brought upon struggle, and blood, and death, and freedom later on. But along with it are colorful traditions that make the already rich culture even richer.

My visit to Melaka Heritage City confirmed this. Just imagine, the small plaza has 24 museums as if dividing cultural pieces into 24 establishments that altogether make a tapestry of Melaka history. And it's just Melaka, a small state among the 14 states of Malaysia.

church ruins in Melaka

I even spent my Christmas there because of the pretty famous Portuguese Settlement where houses are fully decorated with Santa Clauses, Christmas bells, Christmas lights and lanterns. Pretty awesome really.

If you go to Penang, Georgetown will surely show the same fragments and remnants of history that will take you back time.

During weekends and holidays, I would always take time visiting art galleries and museums around Kuala Lumpur, and they never fail me. Everytime, something exciting comes up and adds up to my knowledge of the wonderful country I'm in. It might be all buildings and concretes from afar, but going around alleys make you realize the history it has experienced throughout the years and such history can never go unnoticed. It has to be celebrated thus, the holidays.

at Merdeka Square

Federated Territories
Malaysia is composed of 14 states, each having their own Sultan or Governor. After the Independence, the original 9 kingdoms of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak come to an agreement of forming a federal government and the constitution. Singapore left the federation in 1965. Essentially, the basis for the federation was the states originally ruled by Sultans and to make it work, they come up with an idea of rotating the Kingship amongst the Sultans of the 9 original kingdoms. Of course it's just honorary but it holds value.

These states, from North to South have their own state day. The federal territories too have its state day, it's called Hari Wilayah Persekutuan or the Federal Territories day just celebrated last 1 February. Also, the birthday of the Sultan of the States are celebrated thus another reason for a holiday.

Reflections
It might seem a little too much but I think I get the point. A nation is built both by its traditions and decisions. And the decision to celebrate its different traditions contributes to the national consciousness of respect and tolerance both to religious and national views. Malaysia has a long way to go in making sure that everyone is given the right opportunities he/she deserves but the current administration's campaign called 1Malaysia seems to target such concern. On the grassroots, you can still find people who call other races "monkeys" or "I don't get them" remarks, but such is inevitable and should I say isolated cases.

These holidays make it possible for other races to understand the values of others and understanding their collective values, one way or another, leads to understanding their identity as a people. Sort of unity in diversity or cultural relativism, something which democracy, like Malaysia, should celebrate and be proud of.

Malaysia Holidays 2012