5 Good and Bad things about living in Malaysia

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Hello everyone, how about some feedback from the current MM2H'ers regarding up to 5 positive and negative things/experiences of living in Malaysia. It would be useful information for people considering MM2H.

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The Good
- Climate
- Food
- People
- Scenery
- Culture

The Bad
- Driving habits
- The haze
- Bad planning
- Limited environmental awareness

The Ugly
- People flying out of windows
- Bumiputra laws

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sukhi: I cannot claim to be a mm2h-er as I am in Thailand and studying possibility of applying.  These are my impressions so far.

for:
10 year visa (unmatched anywhere, as far as I can tell)
warm, no winter
living generally similar to what I experience in Bkk, but see below
possibility of cycling
multicultural society
living costs not expensive
don't have to buy property

against:
haze (would moving further north to Langkawi mitigate this?) (would like to know more about longterm health effects)
crime (clearly worse than Bkk, where street crime is virtually unknown)
excessive bureaucracy experienced in setting up Malaysian bank account
excessive bureaucracy observed in mm2h procedure
ever-shifting goal-posts in mm2h, generally heading towards more difficult standards
ubiquitous pets in condos, (from forum info, but also confirmed by other sources)  (might be mitigated by getting the "right" condo, but seems independent of condo pricing level)
crap buses (Hin are like Bkk fan buses, Rapid are insufficient routes/frequency)
car-based society (in Bkk, no necessity for a car - indeed such a thing is a burden)
no motorbike taxis
no mass transit
[[note: most travel problems can be accommodated by getting a rented apartment in a condo next to/handy for a megamall - this is my intention]]
similar corruption to Thailand
bad political scene (so they say, no experience)
monkeys
smell from sea in some areas (mudflats?)
rubbish everywhere (same as Thailand, the floor is the rubbish bin)
burning of rubbish (polythene fumes are toxic)
bad driving

I couldn't pick a worst 5 from these, but the residents obviously feel that the haze is a big deal.

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hi,

5 Good Things

1). Malaysia is a multi-racial society that works well. And my Malaysian friends often confirm this and value it.

2). Stuff is a bit obvious here. Spin can quite easily be detected. Nothing is very subtle. It suits my limited resources.

3). I do not pay any tax on income earned from abroad. I don't pay VAT/GST/IVA or any direct taxes. Capital Gains Tax is currently exempted.

4). Malaysia is cheap and cheerful. RM600 per night at the Ritz-Carlton in KL is value-for-money by any standards. The 5-star hotel that I stayed in at Putrajaya was RM220 for sheer comfort.

And mixing with ordinary Malaysians is very enjoyable, lovely hospitality.

5). English is widely spoken.

5 Bad Things

1). The Haze, exhausts from lorries, coaches, buses, taxis and all diesel vehicles.

2). Rubbish disposal being everywhere, and anywhere, except your compound.

3). Kami-kaze coach drivers.

4). The mm2h scheme is sound but the RM10,000 monthly income is difficult for many otherwise affluent folks. This element needs to be removed and the scheme focused towards the retired and the affluent, as my2homers, rather than the merely rich.

I don't have a 5th. 

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Il Buono, 

The People
The Scenery
The Food
Stuurman's Rendang

il Brutto,  

The standard of driving
The haze
Exhaust fumes

il Cattivo 

Jellyfish on a plate
Sea Cucumber on a plate

Bob (no I didnt mean I was il Cattivo)

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Slightly off-topic and perhaps should be moved by Scott to another thread such as the USA and UK threads..

I noticed that someone said that Malaysia was the only place offering such a good retirement program.

I went to Panama some 5-6 years ago as they started a similar scheme...I saw great potential and profit from property there and this has occurred. My wife was not keen so I scrapped the idea.

The following link may be useful:
http://www.panama-offshore-services.com/retired_pensioned_program.htm

David 

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hi,

There's a Panama Alternative

It has 20 posts on it.

It would be really nice to hear of any of your Panama experiences. 

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My 2 cents worth:

The Good
1.  Widespread use of English.
2.  Diverse cultures.
3.  General friendliness of the natives.
4.  KLIA (a real gem and maybe 1 of the 3 best airports in the world).
5.  The MM2H Program (How can you leave this out?  How many of you folks would be there now w/o it?)

The Bad:
1.  The Heat- it's relentless (I know/understand this may be on the "Good" list for others but for someone from a temperate climate with cooler seasons it makes the top of my "Bad" list).
2.  Crazy/rude drivers.
3.  Corruption at most every level of society.
4.  Lousy/slow/spotty internet service.
5.  Air pollution/smog/haze.

Disclaimer:  I offer these opinions not as a permament resident but as a MM2H visa holder with 10 visits since 2004...Jim

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6 GOOD :

1. Great Weather.....away from the heavy snow of Ontario, the severe winter of  Alberta and the dreary rain of Vancouver (the end of snow shovelling!!) - & GreatCongestion & Pollution of HK;
 
2. Food.....hawkers food delicious & cheap, local restaurant food: if I pay RM30 here I'll be paying about C$30 for similar orders back home; - forget about these prices on HK Island;

3. Cost of Living...... generally lower in many aspects eg won't be able to afford owning a property, property taxes & costs of maintaining for a similar property back home that's close to city AND car maintenance is peanuts compared to what mechanics charged over there;- which ordinary folks can afford to live in a landed prop with garden on HK Island?

4. Keeping up with my hobbies year round...... gardening - my orchids bloom a few times a year, no raking of leaves, cycle any time I want (when not raining); - in HK, only at the gym bike and orchids in the bathrooms

5. People.......nice friendly & helpful on personal level (not when they are driving ) My Canadian friends/neighbors are very nice/helpful too, but HKgkies are suspicious if I even smile to them in the lift, usually I must have  been invisible

6. Language/dialects - English understood every where. For those who don't I can switch between Mandarin, Cantonese & some limited Hokkien and even throw in a few words of Bahasa here and there and we're in business. Now equipped with Manglish I get by better and taken for a local at times

6 BAD:

1. Traffic & Drivers ......what's wrong with the drivers, didn't they get proper instructions at Driv.Schs? People park any where they like because they are color blind to the lines on the streets be they yellow, double or white 

2. Police......noticed some are always looking for pocket change - very disturbing to me. Maybe if they are trained and paid like professionals' things might be different 

3. Civic Consciousness....clean in the dwellings but ok to throw garbage beyond the perimeters or down the balconies

4. Yearly HAZE....triggers my allergies and suffocated by the 'smoke' smell on BAD DAYS;

5. Ugly sights of drivers & even well dressed people in church excavating their noses or spitting. Now. I'm not too keen to shake hands, very weary of people with long nails on the pinkies and I always carry alcohol wipes 

6. Very humid at certain times of the year...washing machine works doubly hard and dousing in talc powder...if you see one with neck covered in talc you know -I contribute a fair bit to this industry

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Hi Bob

 Jellyfish is lovely. Sea Cucumber (otherwise known as sea slug or even sea snake) you can keep !!

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Fascinated to see BB's reference to nasal excavations. 

This is a Thai habit too.  After flicking away a resultant greenie, they proceed to handle everything as normal.  It is safe to assume all public surfaces such bus handles, motorbike handles, straphangers, doorknobs etc are all covered with staph.  [And what about money?]  My way of handling [ooh pun] this is to always wear white cotton disposable gloves when travelling, out-and-about, etc.  They are cheap and washable - work great and last about 10 uses. 

There is also a spin-off; I play pool, and cueing is great across a cotton glove.  Smooth and easy, excellent for pace control, and no need to powder.  Try it!

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Fascinated to see BB's reference to nasal excavations. 

This is a Thai habit too.  After flicking away a resultant greenie, they proceed to handle everything as normal.  It is safe to assume all public surfaces such bus handles, motorbike handles, straphangers, doorknobs etc are all covered with staph.  [And what about money?]  My way of handling [ooh pun] this is to always wear white cotton disposable gloves when travelling, out-and-about, etc.  They are cheap and washable - work great and last about 10 uses. 

There is also a spin-off; I play pool, and cueing is great across a cotton glove.  Smooth and easy, excellent for pace control, and no need to powder.  Try it!

I would love to see a picture 

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stuurman: of a greenie?

If you insist.  Google images - jeshuafreak.blogspot.com

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No the gloves, didn't see them but maybe my eyesight isn't to good tonight  (Saturday night)

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Stuurman: i'm in trouble here. Computer broken. Am doing this on my phone!
Hope this posts.
No have pic gloves. Buy in Tesco on household stand. Pack of 10 or 20. People use them for cleaning.