[July, 1997] In this cultural travelogue, I explore the
western part of Peninsular Malaysia, make a return trip to Kota
Bharu, and give an impression of Singapore. The comments here are not
organized linearly in a geographical sense, but are directed to some extent
by the direction I journeyed through the land: I stopped off in Singapore
on the way to Indonesia, entered Malaysia at Kuala
Lumpur, took a train to Kota Bharu, then to Singapore, followed by a bus
to Johor Bahru, Muar, and Melaka before returning to Singapore. As always,
my wife, Karen's insights and innate skills were extremely helpful.
Western Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore seem weighed down by the legacy
of the British Straits Settlements. In Malaysia, political power that once
rested with the British now resides almost exclusive in the dominant Malay
population. The Chinese, who were a major economic force in the Straits
Settlements, extended their dominance by filling in the void left with the
British withdrawal. The Indian population in both countries is significant,
but too small to pose a threat to the other two groups in either country.
The British East India Company and the Straits Settlements helped promote
these demographics though Chinese settlement in the areas predates the
British arrival by centuries. Dilapidated houses from a century ago, British
mail boxes, signs in a phonetic English, and highways lined with palm tree
plantations live on as symbols of that Straits Settlements era. The tudung
of the Malay women, the statue adorned pyramid temples of the Hindu Indians,
and the businesses of the Chinese are the most easily identifiable symbols
of these communities in the cities I visited. Another feature of this area
that is significant to someone from outside the region is the heat. The
humid heat of the area cannot but affect the lifestyle of everyone who
lives in this region yet to explain how with only cursory experience would
be of no value. Having been to China and seen relatively
homogenous*
Chinese communities throughout the world, my interest was drawn more to
the Malay and, less visible Indian*+ communities so please
forgive me this intentional omission.
*I use the term "homogenous" with some trepidation,
fearing that I might be misunderstood. The local environs has had an affect
on Chinese communities whereever they be, but I think more important is
the fact that the Chinese Diaspora originates from the provinces of Fujian
[Fukian] and Guangdong [Canton] of the southeastern coastal area of China
and that the differences between Chinese in these two provinces, and even
within Guangdong itself, may be more significant than the impact of the
local environs on how these people live.
*+ I use the term Indian here as it represents the historical boundaries
of India prior to independence having been achieved.
A place that is labeled "very cosmopolitan" is one that has an international
flavor and as such lacks a localized characteristic. You might say that
major international airports are quintessentially "very cosmopolitan."
Airports are unique in that the people who can be found there may be from
vastly different cultures, but they are also very similar by virtue of
the fact that they come from a relatively narrow segment of the economy
where they reside. In most cases this would lead one to argue that the similarities
between those who are patrons of international airports have more in common
with each other than they do with a larger segment of the country from
which they originate. This supposition has definable limits.
I was in search of food when Karen encountered a group of Muslims. It's
really misleading to say couples because when Karen saw them, the men were
all huddled together talking, while the women were all huddled together
in a separate group several feet away. The men wore white clothing and
caps. The women were all in black. It took Karen several minutes to realize
that the women were not all with their backs to her because they were completely
covered in black. They wore black gloves, black, loose fitting gowns and
black veils. It was only after some study that we realized there was some
difference in the way the individual women dressed, and then it could only
be said that this difference was limited to their veils. Some of the veils
had a rectangle of space cut out where their eyes were, others merely had
small perforations in this area of their veil making it completely impossible
for an observer to see their eyes and somewhat difficult for the woman
to see where she was walking. When one of these women was preparing to
step off of a people-mover to walk on a small portion before the people-mover continued on, she
had to pull her veil as she looked down to avoid miss-stepping.
In the remote Northeastern corner of Peninsular Malaysia such a sight
might be more expected, but it is not. Even in the relatively orthodox
Muslim city of Kota Bharu, 
the
clothing of the Malays is bright and fashion conscious. It's because of
this that an appearance of more conservative Muslims stand out. Walking through
the night market in KB, I saw a mother and daughter were in full purdah
with their faces covered, except for their eyes, as they sat down to eat
dinner with the rest of their family. By chance we sat nearby and overcome
by curiosity, I decided I had to see how they ate their food covered up
so. From where we sat, I could see that the mother was still feeding her
child, but I could also see the daughter's hands moving to her food. When
we were finished with our meal I made a detour to educate myself in the
most discrete way I could think of. I'm not sure how discrete I was, but
the family didn't seem to notice and all I needed was a glimpse to learn
that she had removed her face veil. Her jilbab (scarf covering her
head) was pulled forward extending perhaps a foot or so in front of her
face to completely conceal her face - as a tent - while she ate.
Kuala Lumpur. Attitudes vary and what is typical of Muslim Malays may
tend more to the following scenario. While I was walking along the waterfront
to get from one side of Johor Bahru to the other, I sat and took a pause
to look about me. I noticed two young couples get out of a car and approach
the area near where I sat. One of the young men, I learned his name was
Said, was very friendly so I ventured a question. I asked him why one of
the two women was wearing a tudung and the other was not. He replied,
"oh, no," and motioned with his hands and head that he didn't like the
tudung. When I asked him why, suggesting that it might be too conservative,
he said "yes." Said was dressed fairly "modern," was well off enough to
drive a car , and didn't place his hand on his chest after shaking hands
with someone as I was used to seeing in comparatively conservative Kota
Bharu. He also seemed to bask in the glory, before his friends, of walking
up to a Western person, and talking to him by name because he told me "goodbye
Mister John" several times after he had rejoined his friends and I had
begun to walk away. Although Said's preferences may be skewed towards the
cosmopolitan lifestyle and affluence of the West, the tudung is
only a common sight in Kota Bharu were Muslim women are required to wear
it by law (though the enforcement of this law seems to fluctuate).
Its ironic that the habits of Roman Catholic nuns, which have lent them
the irreverent term "penguins," is so similar to the fashion of those Muslim
women in Southeast Asia who don the tudung or jilbab.
A simple explanation of the Muslim desire for a woman to wear a tudung or jilbab
was offered on a sign in Kota Bharu written in Arabic, Malay, and English:
"And say thou unto the believing women that they shall lower their sights
and guard their modesty and shall not disclose their adornment except with
appeareth thereof; and they shall draw their scarves over their bosoms."
Buddhists choose to remove the beauty found in a woman's hair by simply
removing the hair of a devout woman, while both Christians and Muslims have
chosen the tudung to conceal a woman's beauty in her hair from all,
but her husband. The point being, I suppose, that men are attracted and distracted
by the natural beauty of a woman unconcealed.
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