This is a small magazine that I made to inform people about Etiquette in Malaysia

1. ETIQUETTE
IN MALAYSIA
JAVANESE VS. HAN HOKKIEN CHINESE
IN KUALA LUMPUR
ETIQUETTE
IN MALAYSIA
JAVANESE VS. HAN HOKKIEN CHINESE
IN KUALA LUMPUR
BY MARCO DE GROEN
BY MARCO DE GROEN

2. WHY? CONTENT
There are many etiquette in Asia. To keep things clear I decided to focus
on one country. In this case that country is Malaysia, this because they
JAVANESE HOKKIEN BOTH
are a country with many different inhabitants. I chose to light out Kuala
Lumpur because the capital is populated with more then 20 different
ethnicities. The 2 biggest groups are Javanese and HAN Hokkien 1 GREETING SOMEONE
Chinese. Both groups are also still very religious which make theme hang PAGE 1 - 8
on their etiquette even more. The difference in religion, ethnic, culture and
etiquette makes theme both very interesting to light out.
2 EXCHANGING
PAGE 9 - 12
KUALA LUMPUR
1.6 MILLION CITIZENS
243 KM2 3 ENTERING SOMEONE’S HOUSE
PAGE 13 - 14
KUALA LUMPUR DEMOGRAPHICS 4 HAVING A MEAL TOGETHER
PAGE 15 - 20
50% 48%
5 NORMAL MANNERS
HAN HOKKIEN JAVANESE PAGE 21 - 24
CHRISTIAN MUSLIM
560.000 CITIZENS 550.000 CITIZENS
6 CONVERSATION HABITS
2% OTHER PAGE 25 - 30
490.000 CITIZENS

3. GREETING SOMEONE
1

4. WARM GREETINGS
“NI HAO” HOW TO SAY HELLO?
Bow to say hello and goodbye say “ni hao”, and
1 to be super polite ask if they have already eaten. 2
If they haven’t invite theme for a meal and you will
make a great impression.Shake hands and bow
both can. Bowing in general is a sigh of respect
and humbleness. Many older Chinese lower their
eyes during the greeting as a sign of respect.
“HAVE YOU EAT ALREADY?”

5. “I GREET YOU
FROM MY
HEART”
3 “SALAM” 4
LETS START SHAKING!
HOW TO SHAKE HANDS?
The traditional Javanese/Malay greeting or
“salam“resembles a handshake, but with both
hands outstretched and without the grasp. The
man/woman offers both hands, lightly touches his
friend’s hands, and then brings his hands back to
his chest to mean, “I greet you from my heart”.

6. YOU CAN’T TOUCH THIS!
TOUCHING SOMEONES SHOULDER?
Do not tap people on the shoulder, also don’t
touch theme in other way.This strongly applies
to all Chinese in general, it is a big NO-NO to
tap/touch someone on the shoulder. It is said that
5 by touch/tapping one’s shoulder, you would put 6
“ONE OF THE out one of the 3 holy flames in the body. This will
cause a lot of bad luck to that particular person.
BIGGEST NO NO
FOR CHINESE”
“PUTTING OUT
THE FLAMES
WILL BRING
BAD LUCK”

7. Never touch Javanese/Malay on their body or
kiss theme in the face.The head is considered
to be the home of the human soul.Only shake
hands if they reach out for you to shake hands.
The face is considered to be their proud part an
cannot be touched or smudged by kissing theme.
7
“DO NOT 8
TOUCH MY
PRIDE”
NOT MY HUMAN SOUL!
THE FACE, A HOLY TEMPLE

8. EXCHANGING
2

9. “JAVANESE/MALAY WILL “BUSINESS CARDS ARE GIVEN
GIVE THEIR CARD WITH WITH BOTH HANDS AND THUMBS
UP, DO NOT DIRECTLY HIDE IT
THEIR RIGHT HAND”
AWAY, THIS IS RUDE”
9 10
DO IT RIGHT THUMBS UP
EXCHANGING BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGING BUSINESS CARD

10. 11 12
“ACCEPT THINGS WITH BOTH
HANDS, THIS TO SHOW YOU
ARE FULLY INTERESTED AND
DEDICATED”
DO YOU REALLY WANT IT?
HOW TO ACCEPT OBJECTS

11. ENTERING AT SOMEONE’S
HOUSE
3

12. “WHEN ENTERING
SOMEONE’S HOUSE,YOU
MUST TAKE THEM OFF”
“DO NOT WEAR
BLACK”
13 14
Some colors have different meanings for
Chinese, the most obvious being red which
symbolizes prosperity/luck.This is important to
take into account when publishing or design-
SHOES OFF
ing products. Black is a big taboo color. Don’t
wear black especially full black during days like
Chinese New Year, Birthdays and Weddings.
PUT OFF YOU SHOES?
COLOR MATCH
WHAT COLOUR SHOULD YOU WEAR?

13. 4
HAVING A MEAL TOGETHER

14. CHOPSTICK RULES
Use the chopsticks well, don’t use theme as fork,
and don’t stick both chopsticks in the meal!
Chinese believe in the after life and by putting
the chopsticks in the meal it will be like inviting
the ghosts to eat your meal.
HOW TO USE THEM?
15 16
“A RITUAL OF INCENSE
BURNING THAT
SYMBOLIZES FEEDING THE
DEAD AND DEATH IN
GENERAL”
Never place your chopsticks straight up in your
bowl. By placing your sticks upright in your bowl
“GHOST WILL EAT your will remind your host of joint sticks which is
YOUR FOOD!” connected with death.

15. DON’T PAY THIS BILL!
WHY NOT SHARE BILLS?
17 18
“IT IS A SIGN OF RESPECT TO
LET SOMEONE PAY THE BILL”
Never ever share the bill while eating together, its
a sign of respect to let someone pay the bill as
long as you do it yourself the next time you have
a meal. Chinese still practices this especially if
you are going out for a meal with your boss or
someone important.

16. FINISHED YOU MEAL?
WHY LEAVE SOME FOOD?
19 20
Cleaning your plate is fine but don’t clean the
plate where the dishes are being serve on.
Still it is a bit rude to finish everything. Leave a bit
to show modesty. Also on certain day like
Chinese New Year leaving a bit behind means you
have extra to spare through out the year too.
“IT IS OK TO LEAVE SOME
FOOD BEHIND”

17. NORMAL MANNERS
5

18. “NEVER PASS THINGS OVER “AVOID SAYING NO, IT IS
THE HEAD OF PEOPLE IN RUDE AND SHOWS YOU ARE
ASIA, IT IS REALLY RUDE NOT WILLING”
AND BRINGS BAD
LUCK”
21 22
NO,NO,NO!
PASS IT AVOID SAYING NO
NEVER PASS OVER THE HEAD

19. RED LUCK
“NEVER SHOW PEOPLE
THE BOTTOM OF YOU
FEET, IT IS AN INSULTING
GESTURE”
RED WRITING BAD LUCK?
23 24
“NEVER WRITE A CHINESE
PERSONS NAME IN RED
COLOR,THIS WILL BRING BAD
LUCK TO THE PERSON”
BARE SOLES
THE BOTTOM OF YOU FEET

20. CONVERSATION HABITS
6

21. “ASIANS WILL SMILE “DO NOT USE LARGE HAND
WHEN EMBARRASSED. MOVEMENTS. CHINESE DO NOT SPEAK
SMILE EMBARRASSMENT WITH THEIR HANDS. LARGE MOVEMENTS
AWAY THEY SAY” COULD MEAN YOUR ANGRY OR
PROVOCATING SOMEONE”
25 26
SMILE! BIG MOVES
EMBARRASSED? THEN SMILE! DON’T WAVE LIKE A HELICOPTER

22. “DO NOT USE YOUR FINGER “POINT WITH YOU THUMB
INDEX TO POINT SOMEWHERE. AND FINGERS CLOSED TO
IT IS CONSIDERED VERY RUDE” FORM A FIST.”
27 28
DON’T POINT LIKE THAT
HOW TO USE YOUR HANDS WHILE TALKING?

23. “HANDS IN YOUR “A LONG SILENCE IS ACCEPTABLE”
POCKETS WHILE HAVING
A TALK MEANS YOUR
ANGRY”
29 30
ANGRY?
HANDS IN YOUR POCKETS Periods of silence are considered acceptable and
are to be expected, especially after a question is
asked. Avoid interrupting, showing displeasure
through facial or eye movements and talking over
someone. Be patient.
SILENCE....
THINK FIRST, IT IS NORMAL