10 Ways You Know You’re Malaysian

10 Ways You Know You’re Malaysian

Being Malaysian is a pretty special thing. You could say we're one of a kind - with our quirky lingo, customs and habits. Want to find out if you’re a true blue Malaysian? If the points below apply to you, then you definitely are. So when anyone asks you "Why you so like that wan?", you can proudly reply, "Because I'm Malaysian".

1. Your hand has magical powers.

Just by holding it up and in front of you, you can stop incoming car traffic – no matter how fast and intimidating. Car, van, or lorry – they all obey the hand. Also, raising your hand also gets you past security guards in residential areas. It’s a short, powerful, very Malaysian way of communicating a message.

2. You call everyone “boss”.

And you don’t work for any of them. Your lawyer, your barber, the guy serving you at the mamak – they’re all your “boss”. For example, we might say, “Boss, kuah lebih sikit!” to a mamak waiter. It makes no sense at all, but it’s friendly and respectful. In Malaysia, we’re all bosses and that’s the way we like it.

3. The words “sale” and “free” excite you like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

What can be more Malaysian than going crazy at the news of sales, discounts, and free giveaways? The cheaper and the freer, the better. We’re able to queue at 7 a.m. for a sale, but find it difficult to get up for work at 9 a.m. Our non-official slogan is basically “Boss, can give discount ah?”

4. You hope for a public holiday whenever we win at sports.

Whether it’s our badminton stars at the Thomas Cup, our football team at the AFF Suzuki Cup, or our athletes at the Olympic games – you hope for a public holiday if we do well. When Lee Chong Wei won in the recent Thomas Cup Final, Malaysians jumped joyously in their living rooms, believing a public holiday would follow. A sports victory is a big deal and the nation should celebrate it by being allowed to… sleep in.

5. You end sentences with “lah”.

Can lah. No lah. Come on lah. "Lah" is as adaptable as we Malaysians are. You can use it for the weather - "So hot lah." You can use it for price - "So expensive lah." You can use it for disbelief - "Where got lah?" Anytime, anywhere... if you're Malaysian, just say lah.

6. You’re willing to travel for hours for good food. And when you travel abroad, you miss the food back home.

Food is so important to us that we’re willing to travel great lengths for it. A 4-hour drive to Penang for some authentic nasi kandar? No problem, boss! To us, life is like a journey. At the end of that journey, we eat. Even when we travel abroad, we start craving for Malaysian food after a few days – home is where our stomach is.

7. You prefer your food as spicy as they come.

To us, throwing pepper on something doesn’t qualify as ‘spicy’. Spicy means bringing in the big guns - sambal belacan, cili potong, cili padi. We like chilli on everything we eat! This isn’t just limited to local food. Whether when eating chicken wings or pizzas, we always like an extra helping of chilli sauce or chilli flakes. We like our food as tough, dramatic, and sweat-inducing as a wrestling match. We’re not bland and our food shouldn’t be either.

8. You like your food smelly too.

Mm-hm! We love our durians, our petai, and our cincalok. While their smell might put off the rest of the world, we know their unique taste is well worth it. We wear our love for the world’s stinkiest foods like a badge of honour.

9. You feed your phone before you feed yourself.

We take pictures of everything we eat and upload them to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The world must be shown everything we eat! Whether we’re at the mamak or a fine dining restaurant, whether we’re eating Asian or Western cuisine, whether we’re with friends or alone – pictures are a must. These days, posting food images on social media is how we best express our deep love for food.

10. You arrive at least 30 minutes late for anything.

Whether it’s an office meeting, a wedding, or even a mamak session with friends, we’re always 30 minutes late. At least. We call this ‘Malaysian timing’. And how many times have we told others via phone that we're “on the way” when we were really not?