Sultan Iskandar pointed out that the tanjak is outdated. Its use has been prohibited since 1825 and Malay men are to put on black songkok when they appear in public.
Johor Buzz
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette
June 1, 2009 • 1:00 am 0
Pointings n Beckonings
The importance of body language is essential in the intricate complexity of Malay rich culture and social interactions. On this particular article, I would like to bring special attention to the methods use for pointing and beckoning in the Malay world of ‘Santun’.
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette
May 23, 2009 • 4:10 pm 0
Malay Beauty 2: The Best Gifts
“Bunga mekar di taman,
baunya semerbak ke mana-mana”
A full bloom flower not only beautiful in the garden,
but it’s smell scattered all over the place. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette, General Issues
April 30, 2009 • 11:15 pm 0
Take off your shoes!!
“When you put on your shoes, start with the right shoe. When taking off the shoes, start with the left one. The right shoe is the first to be put on and the last to be taken off.” Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette
April 25, 2009 • 7:47 pm 1
Why Malays Eat with Their Hand?
The Chersonese with the Gilding Off is usually described as a companion volume to Isabella Bird’s better-known The Golden Chersonese , published in 1883 and also available as an Oxford Paperback. Starkly written and with a wry sense of humour, it is vastly different to Isabella Bird’s rather idyllic account. Seeing the Malayan country `under totally different circumstances’, Innes’s describes her lonely and uncomfortable life as the wife of a minor government official, and her reluctant participation in the pettiness of colonial society, and in the life of the kampung around her.
In her book, she briefly described her story meeting a Malay aristocrat, Tengku Kudin.
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette, History Reveals , Tengku Kudin
• 7:37 pm 0
Arts of Eating
Washing your hand before and after eating is a MUST! Usually washing your eating hand with running water from the pipe or from the ‘ketor’ is enough. Take note that Malays will usually move the fingers against each others (the four fingers are rubbed against the thumb repetitously), while washing the right hand. The water from the hand is sprinkled carefully in the sink or ‘mangkuk ketor’. Therefore, the hand is not dripping with water when you are about to begin your meal. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette
April 22, 2009 • 2:23 am 0
The Importance of Handshake
People always come up to me wanting to shake hands and I never know where that hand has been. I say let’s copy the wonderful Japanese custom of bowing. It’s respectful and it’s sanitary. What more could you want in a greeting?
– Donald Trump
I’m sorry to disagree. I’m a Malay from Malaysia and handshake is a social convention as well explained by an earlier comment above.I understand that hygiene is a valid issue but refusing a handshake in society like Malaysia tantamount to being rude and that it is not good in business. Malaysia is not Japan.
- Shahrul
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette , malay greetings, salam
March 16, 2009 • 3:15 am 0
Malay Table Manners
Like other races, Malay table manners is unique and the etiquette regarding food is also quite elaborate. Malay culture has a few ways of handling food which are still practised until today. There are rules and taboos that you must observe if you happen to be invited to a Malay home for a meal.
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette , Customs & Etiquette, Malay Table Manners
March 14, 2009 • 12:25 am 2
Ya Qadzial Hajat
When was the last time you attended a Malay kenduri kahwin (wedding) in the rural area of a kampung? If you’ve never attended one and are curious to know more about it, then this article will be of some enlightenment to you. A week ago, I was in Perlis (in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia) to attend a relative’s wedding and today I will show you a little bit of what goes on in a typical kampung wedding. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Customs & Etiquette , Malay Wedding
