Doses of Malaysian Stories Thru' the Lenses & Senses of Deanna

Malaysians are a diverse lot with diverse celebrations from diverse communities happening throughout the year. 14Jan – is a special day for the Indian Community of Hindu faith as they celebrated the Ponggal Festival- where the ritual of boiling rice with milk and allowing to milk to overflow intentionally, signifying an overflow of abundance.  Joining me on this episode is Narmatha, who will share with us on what Ponggal is about and how it's being celebrated in Malaysia. In the conversation, I discovered that some of the significance behind the rituals, holds so much similarity with the Chinese community. And I believe, that as I go deeper into different communities, we would perhaps be directed into the same channel of being in touch with nature. 

If you would like to continue the conversations further, you are most welcome to hop on to my Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/dosesofmalaysianstories or alternatively you could send a personal mail to dosesofmalaysianstories@ gmail.com .

 Have a great day ahead and see you in my next episode

Malaysia is one country where we celebrate a few New Years within a Year. The novelty of the Jan1 celebration is giving way to another New Year coming up- that is the Lunar Chinese New Year happening on the 1st Feb. Malaysians of Chinese descent are looking forward to a much more merrier NewYear as our economy is opening up. Though restrictions are still in place on SOP adherence, the mood is much lighter. The town is slowly being basked with everything red, from lanterns hung over streets throughout the city and shopping complexes and retailers are abuzz with sales in their bid to attract more customers. Domestic tourism is picking up real fast as hotels and restaurants are booked in anticipation of family gatherings during this time.

Chinese New Year I believe is one of the noisiest festival here in Malaysia where the sounds of drums and cymbals are heard. But I like the sounds made by these lion dance troupes.. This gives me the feel of the real spirit of the season. I would love to invite you my listeners to visit Malaysia during this time of the year when borders are open and I am sure you are so glad you did. 

If you've found value from my podcast- please share with your friends, near, far and wide so that we are able to foster more understanding between humans to humans. You can write to me at my email : dosesofmalaysianstories@gmail. com or you are most welcome to join my Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/dosesofmalaysianstories/ if you wish me to cover certain topics of interest to you.                                                                  Looking forward to see you in my next episode - Selamat Tinggal - Bye !!!

2021 is coming to an end.. and Christmas is the time when it brings hope and cheer to all Malaysians, irrespective of race, color or religion.  As Malaysians, we celebrate each other's festival with as much gaiety as our own. Today, on my last episode for the year 2021, besides giving all a quick run down on how Christmas is celebrated by all Malaysians, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, my beloved listeners for your continued support of me on this very new podcasting journey of mine. I would also like to  wish 2022 will be a better year for all of you and may you be continuously blessed with good health always.

Will speak to all of you come 2022.. Selamat Tinggal and Cheers ! feel free to DM me should you have any personal request for specific topics  that you would like to hear or you could interact with me in the private facebook group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dosesofmalaysianstories

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Malaysia is just so diverse in terms of people, cultures, arts, songs, language, life styles, festivals ooh the list is just endless. But the one thing that connects Malaysians - is FOOD !!! Yeah, that's right Food, No matter what community we represent, there is always one food that we all love as Malaysians..  and it's widely consumed and available to all, that is the Nasi Lemak- this is one food that ALL yes I mean ALL Malaysians have eaten before. If you don't believe me..  I set a challenge to all of you my beloved listeners - Try to identify a Malaysian ( wherever you are !! whichever part of the globe you are ) who has never eaten Nasi Lemak before !!! If you can identify this person,, let me know !! I would love to get to know him/ or her !!! But  I doubt you can find this person at all !! haha.  

Nasi Lemak is designated as our Malaysia national dish ! It started off as a very simple dish- of fragrant rice cooked with coconut milk accompanied with fried anchovies, 2-3 slices of cucumber, half of a hard boiled egg -sometime, 2-3 strands of greens of kangkong- or water spinach- a local vegetables leafs like the sweet potatoes grown here in SE Asia. And this nasi lemak used to be taken for breakfast. Because of it's popularity, it has gone on to be taken for lunch and dinner. And there are also so many ways of presentation this simple dish.

 Today I bring to you, Med Pang -  a Malaysian who has been residing in the UK for the last 21years. And he presently runs a stall at The Spice Lab, a Malaysia street food stall at Mercato Mayfair, serving this national cuisine. His Nasi Lemak is presented in a most unique way while displaying the uniqueness of our Malaysian cuisine. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with him and if you are in London. do drop in at his stall and try this special Malaysian dish- the Nasi Lemak!

Once again, thank you for hanging out with me. I really do appreciate it very much and I look forward to be with you in my next episode.

Selamat Tinggal and Bye !!!

Today my story is going to focus on Who are we as Malaysians!! You know, being born and bred in Malaysia- mingling with different communities of differing colors and features, cultures, food, lifestyles and everything that is so different, yet we feel so at home as it is all part of life here in multi-diverse Malaysia. On the contrary, when I visited other countries where there is more mono rather than diverse cultures, I felt kind of out of place. Strange but true.

Through the years of mingling, interacting, adapting and adopting or just observing, Malaysians of all  different communities has evolved into a unique identity of our own. For eg, like myself, being of Chinese origin, when I travel, many a times I have to explain that I’m a Malaysian (with special emphasis) of Chinese origin just so that I’m not mistaken for mainland Chinese. And I’m sure it’s the same with my fellow Malaysians of Indian origin. But truth be told, I’m actually part Baba Nyonya which is a small community of mix marriage between the early immigrant Chinese men to the local ladies here. So therefore, we are not truly Chinese nor Indians per se. but more of a hybrid race that we call Malaysians that has evolved through the years

Today I have a special guest on my show where I’m going to touch on this very topic of mixed marriages. And what are the things that mixed marriage couples do to ensure a harmonious relationship especially within the extended family unit.

My guest today is Ms Madelyn Toh, whom I met more than 10years ago, when I was invited to be an external examiner for the Tourism students at one of the most prestigious University in Selangor and she was a lecturer there.  I found Madelyn to be pleasant, soft spoken and articulate. Fast forward today, she is now a wife and also a full time Mum to her two beautiful adorable kids. Mag’s Malaysian story will centered around some of the adaptations and learning that she went through because of her mixed marriage and how she is also grooming her children to adapt and immerse into 2 differing cultures from 2 different worlds.

Connect with me here via email and also join my private Facebook group :

a) [email protected]

b) https://www.facebook.com/groups/dosesofmalaysianstories

Terima kasih and Thank you once again for hanging out with me and I shall see you in my next episode. Selamat Tinggal and Bye !!

Today's episode marks a very special day in my podcasting journey. Yes, l've crossed the 10th episode. and I intend to move forward to my next 10th episode - Besides celebrating myself, I would also like to take this opportunity to send my love to all my listeners and also my fellow Malaysians who are not home here or perhaps have already made another place their home but I believe deep down, they are still very much Malaysian at heart! So whereever you are, if you could help me to identify my fellow Malaysians in your locality- please convey my love to them by greeting them in their mother tougue . It will be so fun for you and heartwarming for them too.

Greetings in the Malay language is really easy as it all starts with one word- S-E-L-A-M-A-T yes- Selamat which literally means SAFE!  All my episodes always starts with Selamat Datang and Welcome ! Selamat = Safe.  and Datang - = arrived /arrival ! So Selamat Datang = Safe Arrival ! below are some quick easy greetings that you can pick up:

Selamat Pagi - Good morning (Safe morning)

Selamat Tengah Hari - Good afternoon  ( Safe afternoon)

Selamat Petang - Good evening (Safe evening)

Selamat Malam - Good night (Safe night)

Selamat Hari Jadi - Happy Birthday ( Safe Birthday)

Selamat Hari Krismas - Merry Christmas (Safe Christmas)

Selamat Tahun Baru - Happy New Year ( Safe New Year)

Selamat Tinggal - Good bye (Safe goodbye) 

There you go ! even if you forget the second or third word - just saying Selamat already puts you in a safe place where you will trigger a wide smile from my fellow Malaysians.

Malaysia is moving towards opening our international borders soon. And for us in the tourism industry, we are gearing up excitedly to welcome you to Malaysia. Please feel free to connect with me if you need information on how best to maximize your stay while in Malaysia, it would be my pleasure to share that with you.  Once again, I would like to say a BIG BIG Thank you for all your support and I look forward to see you in my next episode. 

email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/210914573944037

Terima kasih and Selamat Tinggal !

Yes, the Human Spider -French man Alain Robert came to Town to complete his mission to reach the summit of the Petronas Twin Towers, after 2 unsuccessful 2 attempts - 1997 & 2007. The Petronas Twin Towers upon completion in 1996 was awarded the Tallest Tower in the World then, overtaking the Sears Tower in Chicago with the height of the spires also taken into consideration. 

Nevertheless that was a big surprise win for Malaysia as the initial plan was not to aspire to take the position as the tallest tower in the World ! The Twin Towers, belong to our National :Petroleum Company comprises of 2 identical Twin Towers were built by 2 different companies- Tower 1- Japanese Hazama Corporation- Tower 2 - Samsung C& T. Each tower is 88 stories high, connected in the middle at level 41&42 by the skybridge which was installed by Samsung.  Designed by the late Cesar Pelli - and Argentine-American architect, it reflects the Islamic Geometric Design of the 8 pointed star. 

The TwinTowers is part of the mix development area of the KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre) and comprises other buildings like the Mandarain Oriental Hote, the Convention Centre , the Traders Hotel , the KLCC part, A mosque and also the Suria KLCC Shopping Mall. So when you are in Kuala Lumpur- don't miss the opportunity to see Malaysian's icon with your own eyes !! Malaysia  Welcomes You !!

Have you been on a old steam locomotive train ride?? You can get this experience in Malaysia- over at the Land Below the Wind- Sabah on the Island of Borneo.- -The North Borneo Rail- a very interesting ride in a reburnished carriage- taking you back to the times of the British colonial days and scenes of the local country side, of children waving at you when they see a passing train , paddy fields, mangroves..  like slides flipping off your computer screen. It is mesmerizing to just sit with my chin resting on the window sills with the rhythmic chugging of the train - I got transported to my childhood wonderland! 

So if you are that one person who loves the vintage, this is one train ride you must take when you are in Kota Kinabalu - Sabah.

Connect with me on my email: [email protected] or you could join my Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/dosesofmalaysianstories/ 

 Thank you and Terima kasih !!

The Mid-Autumn Festival is the 2nd most important festival to the Chinese Community worldwide. It is celebrated in gratitude for a bountiful harvest back in China in the midst of Autumn which falls on the 15thday of the 8th month in the Lunar Calendar. As per the Chinese lunar calendar, the 15th day of each month is the time when the moon is at its brightest and fullest.

The Chinese community is the 2nd largest community here in Malaysia. And though this festival is not celebrated with as much gaiety as the Chinese New Year, nevertheless it’s importance and significance is certainly no less important.

This festival is also popularly known as the Lantern Festival and also Mooncake Festival. There are plenty of legends and myths surrounding on how mooncakes originated.

1st story- very mythical – these are where fairy tales are made

· Tyrannical king – who didn’t really take care of his subjects. As he is always

· On the lookout for a longevity elixir so that he can continue his rule which he finally got.

· But wife wasn’t’ in favor of his deeds and didn’t want him to have it the elixir. Because the longer he is in power, the more his subjects will suffer.

· Stole elixir.

· When the king discovered that it was stolen by her, he tried to shoot her with an arrow as she ran towards the direction of the moon.

·  This was happening on the 15th day of the 8th month

· She managed to escape and she became the spirit of the moon

· Remembered by subjects – on this 15thday/8th month – in form of mooncakes

2nd story- this sounds more logical

· Chinese history – only 2 times Dynasty ruled by Non-Chinese – Mongols (Yuan) Manchurians (Qing- last Dynasty)

· Yuan Dynasty- Mongols ruled China

· The Han Chinese was oppressed and heavily guarded

· Coordinated an uprising by sending messages inside the fillings of mooncakes

· On designated date, all the Han Chinese united and overthrew the Mongols

· Ending the Yuan Dynasty

· Mooncakes eaten to remember and celebrate the occasion

At least a month before the actual day, companies would be aggressively marketing their moon cakes speciality either focusing on the fillings inside the mooncakes or their unique package that comes together with it. So whereever you are, if there is a substantial Chinese community there, look out for these mooncakes promotions. If you have not tasted any of them, take this opportunity to give your taste buds a new adventure. Share your experience with me and also how the mooncakes are promoted at your location. I would love to hear about it! Oops: I need to make a correction- the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Sept 21 and not 24th.My sincere apologies for the slipup

Taking this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival- a time of reunions, of togetherness and a time of Harmony. May the beauty of the moon blessed and unite us even though we are thousands of miles apart!!

Connect with me via my email: dosesofmalaysianstories @ gmail.com

Or you could join my Facebook group under the same name:

www.facebook.com/groups/dosesofmalaysianstories .

Thank you once again for spending your time with you and take care! Looking forward to be with you in a fortnight’s time. Selamat Tinggal and Bye !!