Malaysia and US: World's Apart?

Moving halfway around the world from Malaysia to US has opened my eyes to some of the differences that exist between the two countries. While some of these are obvious, others are less so, but still palpable to the discerning eyes.

The obvious ones, other than in terms of population and size, include (Malaysia first) equatorial versus temperate climates, monsoons versus hurricanes/tornadoes, constitutional monarchy versus democratic republic style of government, Islam versus Christianity as the dominant religion, driving on the left side of the road as opposed to the right side, the use of Metric units versus English units of measurement, and the most obvious of the lot, a 3rd world country versus a first world country in terms of development.

The less obvious ones, which may escape the notice of the occasional visitors to the two countries, comprise the following mundane stuff on a day-to-day basis:
Customer service: While most government and the commercial sectors in Malaysia have instituted the system of numbered tickets issued by an auto-dispenser in line with the first-come-first-served principle, customers in US still have to stand in line to be served, be it in the bank, post office, RMV (Registrar of Motor Vehicles) office, or SSA (Social Security Administration) office.

But I must admit that the lines here are short, and is nothing compared with the crowd of people sitting around, or some standing against the walls, waiting impatiently for their numbers to be called, in Malaysia. One reason is online transaction is the norm here, even for renewing a driving license, but non-immigrants are excluded as the officer needs to verify an applicant’s INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) documents. Drive-through service is also popular, especially for banking and ordering fast food. Of course here the human queue is replaced by the automobile queue.

Who knows, when Malaysia has fully caught on with these “conveniences”, we may yet see people queuing up for service, but hopefully the queue will be short, consisting of the distrustful (of things Cyber) and the disenfranchised (from the Internet boom).

Healthcare: Since seeing a doctor still does not cause a bomb in Malaysia, paying from one’s own pocket is still the norm. But at US, the cost of healthcare has escalated so much that even paying premiums for health insurance is beyond the average wage earner. To offset the rising premiums, some have resorted to increasing the co-pays and deductibles, so much so that some have elected to stay uninsured, hoping that their bodies will be able to take the daily knocks and toll relatively unscathed.

Some would blame this dire state of affair on the litigious tendency leading to medical law suits. In turn, the insurers raise the rates to compensate for such eventualities.

But as Malaysia ascends to developed nationhood, her embracing of a similar healthcare system seems inevitable.

Traffic Regulations: While helmets are ubiquitous in Malaysia, motor-bikers here wear baseball caps or tie bandanas to their foreheads instead, or simply letting their hair down. On the other hand, while motor-cyclists in Malaysia weave in and out of traffic at will, motor-bikers here stay in their own lanes, even in traffic stops.

The other common sight in Malaysia is drivers using hands-free kits to use their cell-phones. Otherwise they risk being fined. Here drivers talk on their mobile phones all the time, while negotiating turns. The other thing is road rage is rare here, let alone road bully. Courtesy is the way here and it is not surprising to see drivers often leaving a space in front of a junction while stopping for a traffic light for cars to turn out or in.

In Malaysia, tail-gating is more the rule than the exception while moving, and bumper-to-bumper crawl is the natural thing to do lest an errant car coming up from the wrong side dare to take up the intervening space.

Fastfood restaurants: Malaysia has its fair share of US fastfood chain stores: MacDonald, KFC, Pizza Hut, to name just a few. While self-service is the mode of operation in both countries, the papers tissues/napkins and the condiments (packets of sauces) are placed outside the counter and customers just help themselves to them in US. On the other hand, these are kept behind the counter and given upon requests.

Newspaper vending machines: Similarly, these are commonplace here where the right amount of coins will unlatch the door for retrieval of one’s copy of the purchase. It’s the same honor system found in the library’s sale corner, which is unmanned. One selects the books, puts the cash in an envelope, and deposits it in a box.

That such “conveniences” are not found in Malaysia tends to speak volumes of the level of civic-mindedness and integrity of the citizenry in general. It is not merely doing something wrong while nobody is watching, but rather doing the right thing at all times.

Granted US is not a bed of roses, nor is the crime rate here, at certain localities, something to boast about. But there is enough self-restraint, enough role models, enough showing by example, enough check and balance, and an overriding sense of accountability, for the morally weak to desist from wrong-doing.

This is evident from day-to-day interactions, on the street, at a mall, in the office, on a public transport. But there exists a disconnect, a huge one, between the behavior of the individual people we meet, and the image of US as a nation, no thanks to the particularly pernicious way in which her foreign policy and her agenda have been imposed in the international arena, be it the Iraqi quagmire, or the impasse of the Kyoto Protocol.

So while US problems are exogenic (the litany of domestic problems such as healthcare while daunting, seems manageable), the Malaysia malaise seems endogenic, as revealed in a not so friendly but frank account entitled “While Malaysia Fiddles its Opportunities, Its Opportunities Are Running Dry" from down under.

In fact, if you visit Michael Backman (the author of the above piece)’s website, you will see that he actually has a special column on the Malaysia controversy.

A Malaysian friend has emailed me his indignation at such a humiliating article, more so because it is from an outsider who is unlikely to be privy to many an ongoing in Malaysia, and therefore may smack of fabrication. But is it really so? You tell me.