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Tourist in MalaysiaMost people who aren’t familiar with the country so they don’t really know what to expect as far as culture, government or economy. Malaysia isn’t one of those countries like Australia or Greece that you hear about on a daily basis but because there is not much known about it, it would be interesting to hear about what makes this country different than the rest. Most people don’t know that Malaysia is a federation of 13 states located in Southeast Asia. The country itself has two regions that are divided by the South China Sea. The first region is the Peninsular Malaysia or sometimes referred to as West Malaysia. It is located on the Malay Peninsula and it shares a land border with the country of Thailand. It is also connected by the Johor-Singapore Causeway and also the Malaysia Singapore Second Link. That connection is in the south with Singapore. It has 9 sultanates which include the Johor, Kedah, Kelanta, Negeri Sembilian, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and the Terengganu. The two states are governed by Malacca and Penang; there are also two federal sections of land the Putrajaya and the Kuala Lumpor. The second region in Malaysia is Malaysian Borneo or East Malaysia. This land sits on the northern part of the island of Borneo which does border Indonesia and the surrounding area of the Sultanate of Brunei. This region has the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal land of Labuan. The use name Malaysia began in 1963 when the Federation of Malaya which included Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak these federations cause to form a14 state federation. But only two short years after the federation began, Singapore was expelled from the federation and they formed their own country. In years past Malaysia was dominated by the Malays and today the country is a mix of people with Malays and a good sized population of Chinese and Indian minorities. There are three major parties of the Barisan Nasional each group has a restricted membership of an ethnic group. They are communal parties; the last act of intercommoned violence was the 13 racial riots of 1969. The 5 remaining states in the peninsula were known as the Unfederated Malay States. They were not exactly under the London Rule as other parts of Malaysia were under British command; they accepted British advisors in the very beginning of the 20th century. The four northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu were actually under Siamese control before Britain. The island of Borneo, Sabah was governed as the crown colony of the British North Borneo while Sarawak was purchased from Brunei as the personal kingdom of the Brooke Family who ruled under the name White Rajahs. During World War II, Malaysia was occupied by the Japanese, the country called more and more for independence. After the war British plans were to bring together the Malaya under one crown colony called the Malayan Union but came under strong opposition from the Malays who did not want the removal of the Malay rulers or the granting of citizenship to ethnic Chinese either. In 1946 the Malay Union was formed and with the exception of Singapore it was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of the Malaya.

MeanInGTat

LEMANG

Lemang is a traditional Malay food cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick. Usually prepared for festivities such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji, lemang is made of glutinous rice and coconut milk, with salt added for taste. Some lemang recipes add corn. Lemang is usually eaten with rendang.
Lemang is also popular in Indonesian Malay and Minangkabau community, usually eaten by tapai.
[ It said that Lemang was originated back during World War II when the Japanese invade Tanah Melayu (Later known as Malaysia). During the Japanese settlement, the Japanese have imposed a high taxes to the Malayan people. To make sure that no one escaped paying the taxes the have imposed a food ration according to the head count in the family.
To avoid the Japanese taking their ration, the Malayan people use many ways to hide their food especially rice. One of the way is to hide the rice in the bamboo. This how the Lemang comes from.

Hari Raya Aidiladha

Apart from Aidilfitri, the festival most grandly celebrated by Muslims the world over is Aidiladha. In Malaysia, it is more commonly known as Hari Raya Korban or Hari Raya Haji and a public holiday is observed.
Celebrated about two months after Aidilfitri, on the 10th day of Zulhijah, the 12th month of the Muslim calendar, it marks the end of the haj pilgrimage period (about two weeks); hence the name Hari Raya Haji (festival of the pilgrimage).
Every year millions of Muslims make the journey to the Holy Land of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the haj, a requirement in Islam as it makes up one of the five tenets of the religion. As long as they have the means to do so, and are able health-wise, Muslims must perform the haj at least once in life. Upon completion of the haj, the men earn the title of "haji" and the women, "hajjah".
Aidiladha also commemorates the sacrifices made by the prophet Abraham (hence the word "korban" which means sacrifice), who demonstrated immense faith when he was put to the test by God. The prophet was commanded to offer his only son Ishmael up for sacrifice, and though it grieved him greatly, he made ready to perform the task. However, as he was about to strike his son, God stopped him and revealed that it was a trial. Ishmael's life was spared, and a ram sacrificed in his place.
As such, during Aidiladha, the sacrifice of animals such as lambs, goats, cows, bulls and camels is performed. The animals are slain in accordance with the proper religious rites; the meat is then distributed.
One third of the meat is given to the individual who willingly supplied the animal, while the rest is given to the poor and deserving friends and relatives. It is to be noted that this is not a compulsory religious duty, but an obligation for those who are able to afford it.
The observance of the korban is carried out after the congregational prayers, held early in the morning of Aidiladha. It is not unusual for the slaying to take place within the mosque compound.
The rest of the day is either spent visiting friends and relatives, or entertaining guests at home, as is customary in this multicultural country.
Though in Malaysia the celebration of Aidiladha is relatively solemn compared to Aidilfitri, by no means is it less important, for it is a day when Muslims reaffirm their faith in God, giving thanks for the many blessings that He has bequeathed to them.