Escape Artist
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • News
    • Field Notes
    • Trending
  • Your Escape Plan
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Second Citizenship
    • Events
    • Shop
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • France
      • Germany
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Scandinavia
      • Spain
      • United Kingdom
      • Rest of Europe
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • El Salvador
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
    • Others
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • North America
      • South America
      • Middle East
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before You Go
    • Packing List
    • Food + Culture
    • Health + Wellness
  • Subscribe
Escape Artist
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • News
    • Field Notes
    • Trending
  • Your Escape Plan
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Second Citizenship
    • Events
    • Shop
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • France
      • Germany
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Scandinavia
      • Spain
      • United Kingdom
      • Rest of Europe
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • El Salvador
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
    • Others
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • North America
      • South America
      • Middle East
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before You Go
    • Packing List
    • Food + Culture
    • Health + Wellness
  • Subscribe
👤

THE NUMBER ONE SOURCE FOR EXPATS, DIGITAL NOMADS, AND DREAMERS.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Your Escape Plan

Managing Culture Shock in Malaysia

  • BY Don Halbert
  • February 9, 2014
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Managing Culture Shock in Malaysia

One of the first things that will become clear shortly after your arrival in Malaysia is that there are many new rules and that you probably don’t understand any of them. The realization that you don’t know much of what is going on around you creates anxiety at deep levels, and that can lead to some rather predictable behavior in the newcomer.

For example, since you don’t know how to get people to do what you want them to do, the way you do in your home culture, you may very well resort to the excessive politeness of the typical tourist, thanking everybody profusely for minor courtesies and chatting brightly with anyone who speaks to you. This basic appeal of innocence, which translates roughly as “Please like me and help me or at least don’t hurt me or make fun of me or take advantage of me!” is, of course, immediately recognized anywhere in the world for what it is – the surprising thing is that it works so well so much of the time, particularly in Malaysia where ‘old school’ manners and politeness are so valued. However, this is also the time when anyone who wants to get close to you for their own purposes knows that you are vulnerable and easily befriended. Basic rule – be friendly and don’t reject offers of friendship but make yourself step back and see whether or not this person has a legitimate reason for liking you. The first people who approach a newcomer offering friendship are, sad experience reveals, not likely to be the people who you will want to have as friends in the long run.

Sooner or later you start learning the rules that govern behavior in Malaysia. Then the problem becomes that the people around you who know all the rules, especially the unspoken rules, are generally not capable of articulating them – which of course is why they are called ‘unspoken rules’. Sometimes you have to be pretty creative to extract basic critical information on why it is important that things be done a certain way at one time and not at another.

Another problem that confronts the new expatriate almost immediately is that other people have expectations of you that you don’t know about. Many such situations will crop up everywhere during your first six to twelve months in Malaysia, and psychologists agree that the major source of stress on most expatriates and their children comes from knowing that there are multiple expectations affecting you at every turn without knowing exactly what those expectations are or how to fulfill them.

It is inevitable that you will break rules and make mistakes and much of the time you won’t even know you’re doing it. To complicate matters, you won’t have any way of knowing whether other people are following their own rules or not.

In your home environment, even in unfamiliar situations there are clues you can follow, but in a new country, working in a new organization and living in a new community where the people don’t know you and where you don’t know the rules that they all live by, mistakes are inevitable. The biggest problem is that many people have no real idea what the “unspoken rules” are even though they follow these rules every day – they just never think about them. This is, of course, true in every culture including your home culture. To summarize what we have discussed so far, it is very important for new expatriates to realize the complexity and difficulty of the challenges that they will face in adjusting to a new, unfamiliar culture.

  • The more than you are able to share and discuss the things that are creating stress during this period, the easier your adjustment will be. Even though you will be trying to do your best, you will not always know what to do, and you will spend a good deal of your time coping with feelings of lack of confidence.
  • It is important not to judge yourself harshly during this period, and it is even more important not to judge those around you harshly as a way of coping with your own frustration.

In both cases it is the quality of harshness that must be recognized and addressed if it occurs, because harsh judgment of yourself or others is an expression of out-of-control feelings of inadequacy and lack of confidence.

Excerpted and adapted from the ebook “Cultural Dimensions of Expatriate Living & Working in Malaysia” by Bill Drake.

If you would like information on second residency or a second passport, please contact our office HERE.

Please enjoy these additional articles on Malaysia;

What You Should Know Before Buying a Property in Malaysia

8 Reasons to Retire in Malaysia

A Look at the Lifestyle in Malaysia

The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Visa

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • cultural differences
  • local culture
  • Malaysia
Previous Article
  • Your Escape Plan

5 Ways Vacation Improves Kids Health

  • BY EA Editors
  • November 9, 2013
View Post
Next Article
  • Food + Culture

Typical Food In Paraguay

  • BY EA Editors
  • September 11, 2014
View Post
You May Also Like
Building Walls: Roger and Mike with the finished Yorkshire wall
View Post
  • Interviews
The Art of Building Walls
  • BY Isha Sesay
  • October 31, 2025
An EU passport remains one of the world’s most powerful mobility assets
View Post
  • Second Citizenship
The $200 Dream of EU Citizenship
  • BY Ethan Cohen & Learn Hungarian Anywhere
  • October 29, 2025
Best Countries for Second Residency: The Ultimate Guide!
View Post
  • Second Citizenship
Best Countries for Second Residency: The Ultimate Guide!
  • BY Carla Rodrigues
  • October 28, 2025
Presidents Week 2025: Building the Future of Global Wealth
View Post
  • Presidents Week
Presidents Week 2025: Building the Future of Global Wealth
  • BY EA Editorial Staff
  • October 22, 2025
How Belize is emerging as a digital gateway for global investors
View Post
  • Plan B
Belize Is Emerging as a Digital Gateway for Global Investors
  • BY Luigi Wewege
  • October 22, 2025
Craggy cliffs and quiet harbors frame life in the Isle of Man
View Post
  • Your Escape Plan
Life and Opportunity on the Isle of Man
  • BY Aneesa Marufu
  • October 20, 2025
Welcome sign in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a laid-back Caribbean town that offers one of Costa Rica’s most colorful and affordable coastal lifestyles.
View Post
  • Costa Rica
Your Guide for a Smooth Transition Moving to Costa Rica
  • BY Carla Rodrigues
  • October 20, 2025
Starting a Business Abroad - A world of new markets and global possibilities
View Post
  • Business
The Beauty of Starting a Business Abroad
  • BY Aneesa Marufu
  • October 17, 2025
Trending Posts
  • Best Countries for Second Residency: The Ultimate Guide! 1
    • Second Citizenship
    Best Countries for Second Residency: The Ultimate Guide!
    • October 28, 2025
  • How Belize is emerging as a digital gateway for global investors 2
    • Plan B
    Belize Is Emerging as a Digital Gateway for Global Investors
    • October 22, 2025
  • An EU passport remains one of the world’s most powerful mobility assets 3
    • Second Citizenship
    The $200 Dream of EU Citizenship
    • October 29, 2025
  • Presidents Week 2025: Building the Future of Global Wealth 4
    • Presidents Week
    Presidents Week 2025: Building the Future of Global Wealth
    • October 22, 2025
  • Solo Mother Traveling the World 5
    • Interviews
    Inside the Life of a Solo Mother Traveling the World
    • October 20, 2025
Subscribe
Know Before You Go
  • Underrated Countries to Visit, big lessons in how to live well 1
    • The World
    The World’s Most Overlooked Small Countries
    • October 31, 2025
  • Is Malta Safe? What the Data — and Daily Life — Really Say 2
    • Malta
    Is Malta Safe? What the Data — and Daily Life — Really Say
    • October 30, 2025
  • Tamraght, Best Digital nomad destinations in Morocco 3
    • Morocco
    The Hottest New Digital Nomad Destination in Morocco
    • October 24, 2025
  • Living in Paris: Digital Nomad Guide 4
    • Digital Nomadism
    A Digital Nomad’s Guide to Living Like a Local in Paris
    • October 22, 2025
  • 5
    • Mexico
    Top 10 Things to Know if You’re Moving to Mexico
    • October 21, 2025
Learn More
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Why Subscribe

The newly imagined Escape Artist brings you fresh content with a global focus, and sharp, up-to-the-minute coverage of the joys, challenges, and opportunities of life abroad.

For a limited time, we’re offering a special discount on all subscription deals, so be sure to lock-in these incredible savings and start receiving top-notch travel and expat content today!

Sign up for the EA Newsletter

Get important news delivered directly to your inbox and stay connected!

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Escape Artist
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimer

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Newsletter Subscription
Our Spring Sale Has Started

You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/