Expatriate Forums in Malaysia

Hi all,
I am currently doing a research on the topic of Politeness in Malaysia. I want to find out how polite Malaysians really are and if they are not.. why do you think so?
So I'm looking for people who can tell me about their experiences being over or under polite in Malaysia and how any formal Malaysia education they may have had helped them or got them into trouble. I really appreciate any help you can give me!

Many Thanks,
Elena

RCP wrote:I have no idea what you are talking about.....sounds like you are trying to write some sort of university paper, but haven't quantified politeness...is that even a word?

Here is my input:

roti canai man: 6/10
Taxi driver i had yesterday: 2/10
hotel staff: 9/10
man i had car accident with: 1/10

TOO TRUE !!

Agree with the figure....ready properly it stated MAN!

elena_lw wrote:Hi all,
I am currently doing a research on the topic of Politeness in Malaysia. I want to find out how polite Malaysians really are and if they are not.. why do you think so?
So I'm looking for people who can tell me about their experiences being over or under polite in Malaysia and how any formal Malaysia education they may have had helped them or got them into trouble. I really appreciate any help you can give me!

Many Thanks,
Elena

---Hi. You need to consider the variables, apart from gender. It's pointed out that Bahasa Melayu is a very polite language with no swear words or curses ( by the BBC ); apart from 'kurang ajar' ( lacking propriety/politness ) and 'derhaka ( treacherous/unfilial). But I have heard of at least a swear word that's common and it's sexist and un mentionable in polite society.
---I don't know about the Indians or Sri Lankans but I gather the coolies and hawkers, and generally blue collar workers, among the Chinese swear and curse in all dialects.
--- and of course, among the English speakers of whatever ethnicity, swearing is regarded as hip among some, but with some others, it's the norm.
--- From my personal experience, Malaysians are usually always polite except those checking passports at the Johore Bahru Causeway checkpoint. Some of them scowl like protected species in the iron rice bowl if you know what I mean.
---That also made me wonder why there were no Chinese or Indians similarly employed by the government. So I guess, you can say that behind the polite facade, there might be tons of silent swearing.

RCP hit the nail on the head. How do you quantify politeness?

Also, how can you garner any true results from such a small segment of the expat community? It couldn't reflect the Malaysian culture and politeness on a national scale.