Malaysia Is A Multiracial Country

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Malaysia is a multicultural country with a rich cultural heritage. The people strongly believe in respecting each other's culture and religion. Malaysia is unique because of its diversity of races, religions, and cultures, the stability of the country, and many places of interest. Besides, there are many international achievements that are the pride of our nation. The diversity of races, religions, and cultures is a significant characteristic of our nation.

Languages

There are as many languages spoken in Malaysia as there are people of different ethnic backgrounds.

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Bahasa Malaysia is the official language, but luckily for expats in Malaysia, English is an active second language, which is widely spoken, particularly by business people. The official term for the English used by people living in Malaysia is Malaysian Standard English. The use of "Manglish," a form of colloquial English with Malay, Chinese, and Tamil influences often heard on the streets, is being actively discouraged by the government. In total, there are over 130 different languages spoken in Malaysia.

The most common ones – apart from Bahasa Malaysia and English – are various Chinese dialects as well as Tamil.

Costumes

Most Malaysians dress as Westerners do, but many Muslim women wear long skirts or pants and headscarves. On special occasions, people from each ethnic group wear their traditional clothes. Malay women wear the baju kurung, while Malay men wear the baju melayu with a songkok on their head. Alternatively, the men wear batik shirts with trousers. Indian women wear the sari. The salwar kameez or Punjabi suit is popular with northern Indian ladies.

The kurta is the traditional attire for men for formal occasions.

For Chinese, the traditional clothes for women is Cheongsam while for the man they wear samfu. Peranakan ladies are also known as Baba Nyonya, they are Chinese immigrants who intermarried with Malay partners. They wear the elegant Kebaya that can be described as traditional high fashion.