History & Culture of Malays, Chinese, and Indians in Malaysia • in Design

I had the honor to plan and implement the interior design for The Travel Hub, a popular hostel in the core of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My primary objectives for the project were to:

• Reflect Kuala Lumpur’s rich multiculturalism in the hostel’s interior.
• Contribute at least one art commission that would leave a deep impression upon hostel visitors to remember even after their stay.
• Provide a peaceful reprieve from the bustling city with light, welcoming colors and natural motifs.

The Fascinating History of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The design and art I contributed to The Travel Hub cannot be completely understood without understanding a bit about the history and population of Kuala Lumpur. If you are a history and culture fan like me, get ready for a treat on one of the most fascinating histories of Southeast Asia.

British Colonization of Malaysia

In 1812, Malaysia became a British colony. Britain strategized how to use colonies based on the areas resources and the skills the society’s present.
The British discovered that they could extract tin and gold from Malaysia. They could also develop plantations to grow tropical resources like coffee, sugar, and rubber. To connect their colonial network to their posts in Malaysia, they British built the framework for a colonial economy. [1]

The British needed people of diverse strengths to make this economy function. They already had posts in India and China and had discovered that people in both countries had unique skills. They considered the local Malays unreliable laborers though. To solve this problem, they prompted a mix of voluntary (Chinese) and involuntary (Indian) immigration into Malaysia from the mid- to late-19 century. [2]

Much like the U.S., Malaysia today is a modern product of immigration that occurred over a century ago. This means that many, probably most, non-Malaysian Malays today are fourth to sixth generation. [1]

Chinese In Malaysia

While the British had trading posts in China, the Chinese empire maintained its autonomy, unlike the British colonies. This meant that the British couldn’t take Chinese laborers as indentured servants or slaves. If the British wanted Chinese workers, they had to incentivize them with paid jobs. [2] Receiving wages, although small would ultimately give them more freedom to increase their status and wealth compared to their Malay and Indian counter parts.

While “the Chinese mostly arrived poor…their belief in industriousness and frugality, their emphasis in their children’s education and their maintenance of Confucian family hierarchy, as well as their voluntary connection with tightly knit networks of mutual aid societies” resulted in rapid upward social mobility (Hays, 2015).

Many people credit the economic success of East Asian nations to the Confucian values listed above. Even through many generations away from Mainland China, these values have largely preserved in the collective identity and value set of Chinese Malays. Consequently, they have enjoyed the most economic success throughout and since the colonial era in Malaysia. Their success can also be partially attribute to the fact that they were offered work in places that would eventually become cities – Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Penang. For over a century, Chinese Malays have been a majority in these cities. [2] Therefore, their geographic distribution has likely helped their upward mobility for urban life is typically more conducive to social mobility than rural and village life.

Another major advantage for the Chinese Malays (and the Singaporeans, who were part of Malaysia until the 1960s) is that they maintained fluency in Mandarin. This fluency coupled with their at least partially-Chinese identity preserved Malaysia (historically including Singapore) as the premier Asian trading partner with Mainland China. China has been by far the largest Asian economy since colonial times and Malaysia’s economic successes can be (arguably) attributed the most to the presence and work of the Chinese Malays.

The Chinese Malays today, like Singaporeans, are typically completely fluent in both English and Mandarin. Their history is inseparable from two of the empires that have most dramatically shaped life today – England and China. I found the Chinese Malays/Singaporeans to stand so balanced upon the bridge connecting East and West.

Indians in Malaysia

India was one of Britain’s oldest and arguably most exploited colonies. Their rule lasted from 1757 to 1957, meaning that they had already ruled there for about a century before they began importing indentured labourers from the tropical plantations of Southern India to similar plantations in Malaysia. [3]

Indians never accumulated power in Malaysia like the Chinese did for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they arrived in a much less advantageous position than the Chinese. Much like the Malaysian Malays, they also valued religious adherence more than education and the social mobility of their children. Social mobility is also not nearly as accessible on plantations as it is in cities. Furthermore, Indians could not unite like the Chinese could because of clashing religions – Muslims versus Hindus. [2] I personally observe how India had a much more rigid caste system than China. It leaves me to wonder if they perhaps did not deeply believe that they could or should socially rise. Meanwhile the Chinese were consciously focused on and working towards upward mobility.

Nevertheless, Indian Malays much like Mainland Indians are not a people to be pitied. Some people value money and that’s where they thrive. Others value spirituality and that’s where they thrive. I perceived the modern Indian Malays to generally be more globalized and “modern” (by Western standards) than Mainland Indians. They didn’t hawk on the streets. I never felt I was being conned. And they’re restaurants and stores were clean and organized. However, I still perceived a strong similarity between the groups. Their modern collective cultures both value rituals, religious festivals, temple attendance, and being with family. There is certainly something beautiful and inspiring in that.

In some ways, I enjoyed experiencing Indian culture in Malaysia more than in India. Admittedly, the intensity of the culture is weaker in Malaysia. But even in Indian neighborhoods, everything is cleaner than in India – higher food safety, less litter, cleaner car emissions thanks to Malaysian regulation. There is also far less poverty and the inequality is so much less than in India. Similar to the Chinese Malaysian culture, the Indian Malaysian culture stands at a nice balance between East and West. The East that is India is simply a different type than is China.

Malays in Malaysia: Government

The British were responsible for seeding what is now the largest racial tension in Malaysia. Throughout their rule, they believed that Malaysia belonged to the Malays. They permitted sultans to maintain their title and some power. Every government position not occupied by a Brit was given to a Malay. They developed schools only available to Malays. The Chinese and Indians had to finance and build their own schools. The Chinese could and did while the Indians often did not.

I would argue that this was eventually unfair. The Chinese and Indians had been living in Malaysia for generations. Therefore, they should have been given more rights to a nation that they had shaped. Some could argue that the Chinese Malays built Malaysia more than the Malaysian Malays did themselves. When colonial rule fell in the mid-20th century, the government removed foreign powers but did not open to non-Malaysian Malays. To this day, Malaysian Malays occupy all government, police, and military positions. [1]

Furthermore, many types of businesses, especially any seeking government contracts, must have an ethnic Malay as the top earner in the company. This has resulted in several Chinese Malay-ran companies having to hire a Malay to receive an enormous paycheck and not interfere. Obviously, the non-Malaysian Malays who are fifth or sixth-gen are not happy with this system. They are treated like second class citizens in a country they largely built.

In the 1960s, Singapore, which was at the time a city in Malaysia, petitioned the government to adjust these regulations. Malaysia responded by kicking Singapore out of Malaysia. [1] If we look at the success of Singapore relative to Kuala Lumpur today, we can see the degree to which Malaysia’s racist regulations hinder the economic success of the country.

Malays in Malaysia: Culture

Malaysia has been Islamic since the middle ages. In response to the growing prevalence of Christianity and Hinduism caused by colonization, Malaysian Malays became significantly more conservative in the early-20th century.
[2] The secularism and globalism of mainstream urban Malaysia is pegged to the English and Mandarin languages. Non-Malaysian Malays are global and modern because they can interact with global culture through these languages. Malaysian Malays are typically only fluent in Bahasa. Indonesia is the only other country which speaks Bahasa and it is also conservatively Muslim. Therefore, Malaysian Malays remain in a bubble of conservative Islam.

Socially, this means that many Malaysian Malay schools and institutions are focused more on religious indoctrination and less on modern education. Most women wear hijabs and are generally seen as subservient to men. Women’s lack of power means they have less recourse when dealing with sexual or domestic abuse. Muslim women are often discouraged either from working or from pursuing ambitious careers, which results in families having fewer resources and consequentially fewer opportunities for their children. Homosexuality is scorned, obviously causing trauma to their LGBT children. This is all admittedly similar to the Indian Malaysian community. The difference is the intensity of conservatism.

While Malaysian Malay culture certainly has its challenges, its traditional art cannot be overlooked. A rich and diverse style of printing on textiles, known as batik, has thrived and evolved since pre-colonial times. I would also argue the Islamic architecture is the second most prevalent architectural style in Kuala Lumpur. Victorian is the first. I personally consider Islamic architecture to be a global treasure.

Interior Design of The Travel Hub

Many travelers to Kuala Lumpur are either on a quick layover or are swiftly passing by on a rushed tour of Southeast Asia. This means that many people may not have the opportunity to perceive the depth the city. It takes more time to peel back the layers of Kuala Lumpur than most people have. My goal was to at least introduce people to Kuala Lumpur’s various cultures through the design of the hostel. I knew that many people would not have the chance to visit the city’s diverse neighborhoods. But every hostel guest would walk past the walls, desks and artworks. Perhaps I could reflect those cultures and neighborhoods in these spaces.

Painting Commission: Culture through Portraiture

These were small drafts for large-scale paintings I intended to make. I originally planned to make three. Each one would feature someone from the three major ethnic groups in Malaysia. However, before making the third, the hostel owner decided that she just wanted one large scale portrait due to space and time constraints. After I described my inspiration, she would ultimately be the one to choose which portrait would be scaled.

A Dichotomy of Values: Materialism and Spirituality

I love working with significant color pops. Usually, I end up painting landscapes though and I’m never inspired to pop color in them. Gold is one of the primary pops in these paintings. To me, gold means richness. Richness has many flavors though.

The portrait of the Chinese prince is saturated with materialistic wealth. His elaborate headpiece, his left-brained gaze, his casual bubble of chewing gum. His eyes, organs of desire, look away. Where is he? Dreaming of what else he might get perhaps. But what does he have literally right in front of him? Bubble gum: an icon of consumerism. Simple. Ephemeral. Disposable. It seems that there is a distance between what he has and what he wants, an unease. Maybe even a sort of disease.

The baba’s eyes look to the golden sun though. The source. The center. Nature. Isn’t he ever so aware of that looming entity forever in the background, that which his life, or lives, has always spun around? The baba is emaciated. But he certainly knows a sort of richness, perhaps one much truer that the Chinese prince’s.

What does it means to be rich? We must decide that for that is what we will chase in this life. Eventually, we find whatever we are seeking so mustn’t we be careful to seek the correct things?

Is there one correct thing to seek? Or is balance the goal? Is it worth it to be emaciated? Is it worth it to live with material desire? Or maybe the better question is: When is whatever it is enough?

These are questions which people everywhere in the world address, but particularly in the heterogeneous Kuala Lumpur, where neighbors chase different riches.

The hostel owner was the most satisfied with the Indian baba. Therefore, we went forward with scaling that design.

Note: This series isn’t intended to be reductionist. One cannot say that Chinese people chase wealth while Indians chase spiritual attainment. Across every culture, there is a vast variety of personalities with various values chasing various things. I am deeply conscious of this and I hope my art is never mistaken as stereotyping.

What I saw and tried to communicate through this series were (partial) reflections of deep collective souls of the cultures featured. All people must deal with the baba and the prince within themselves. Even the baba must deal with the prince in himself and the prince must deal with the baba in himself. Everyone has everything, across all cultures. I hope my art inspires people to recognize our similarities rather than highlight our differences.

Bricks in Batik

My goal was to feature something special and unique from all of Kuala Lumpur’s major cultures. Just because I wasn’t going to create three large portraits didn’t mean I would give up on this commitment. I determined that I would find other ways to infuse Malaysian and Chinese Malay culture into the Travel Hub.

One of the things which most impresses me about Malaysian Malay culture is their batik art. Batik is a catchall word for a breadth of designs printed on fabric. But I was specifically charmed by a repeated pattern of diamonds that I kept seeing throughout Malaysia. The applications of the pattern are so versatile and beautiful. The design has the simplicity of binary code. But a design as streamlined as this is the type of design that can survive centuries and sometimes even millennia.

Guests are in Malaysia. Even if the Chinese Malays and colonial British were largely responsible for shaping the nation into what it is today. The deep history, the old history of Malaysia is obviously the most connected to ethnic Malays. When guests check in, I want them to feel like they are in a place with a rich local culture and an old history. I felt it was therefore the most appropriate to put a Malaysian motif on the reception desk.

I decided to paint that everpresent pattern that I kept seeing on cloths onto stone. Stone lasts. It ages. It speaks of history. To connect Malay art to stone honors the history of the Malay people.

From Mud to Beauty: The Lotus Motif

The Chinese arrived to Malaysia poor, but hopeful. From a peasant class came one city that currently enjoys the world’s most desirable passport and one of the top 10 highest GDPs per capita (Singapore) [4]. The other city is currently one of the world’s top emerging economies (Kuala Lumpur) [5]. Contrasting the pollution around Southeast Asia, these nations are remarkably clean and eco-friendly [6]. Few nations have emerged from colonialism so impressively.

The lotus flower is a symbol of Buddhism. Both appreciation for the lotus and Buddhism have been adopted by Chinese culture. The lotus grows from muck and sprouts just above the water level upon a sturdy stem. Stable beauty born from dark, cold mud. History has shown that Chinese Malays have honored the lotus. That is why I chose this symbol to incorporate in the Travel Hub.

I love when kitchens feel natural. It is so important to feel relaxed and conscious of your food when eating. Nothing makes me feel more calm and connected than nature. That’s why I chose to place the lotus mural specifically in the kitchen/dining area.

This kitchen was previously a patchwork of mismatched whites and greens. The space felt like an idea pad waiting to tie up into a consistent style. I did away with the discontinuity and painted everything over in either white or green. I painted the ceiling rafters in the same blue that the neighboring reception/lounge would be painted in attempt to connect the two spaces.

Nature in Malaysia’s Urban Hotspot

The lotus mural was an overlap of two objectives – to reflect a culture and to reflect nature. We were happy with how the kitchen turned out so we decided to keep going with the simplistic natural outlines.

I repainted the common area white and green similarly to the kitchen. But I also painted bamboo stalks, a staple of the Malaysian landscape. This plant belongs not just to Malaysia though, but to Asia. Bamboo is plentiful in China, Malaysia and India.

Just like the common area should connect travelers from all over the world, bamboo is a thread that links these diverse ethnic groups together. I will admit that I regret this color choice though. It would have looked much better to be white on light green like in the kitchen. Dark green on white in my opinion looks incomplete. However, the hostel owner was happy with it and preferred it to be left that way.

Entering and Exiting a Multinational Metropolis

The last place that I left a nature outline was in the entry way. The entry was painted from a heavy dark green and a jaundiced white to a fresh sky blue and bright white. After a long journey to arrive in Kuala Lumpur or simply after a day on the city, I want guests to feel they are in a fresh, clean, spacious place. I want them to sense air and feel they can finally breathe in deeply again.

A wind of some type has blown visitors into the hostel and that wind is represented by these flowers. When they see them, they should feel that sense of relief that comes at the end of a tiring journey thinking “Finally, I sign that I have made it.”

Fresh air seems to blow through the corridor because of the breeze-kissed petals of great flowers standing tall on the high walls of the entry stairwell. These flowers are nondescript of any particular culture. They are simply reflections of nature and beauty in a way that is accessible to anyone. They are flowers for the diverse traveler. The first thing a visitor to the Travel Hub will experience is universal and unifying.

When the Travel Hub guests leave the hostel, I was conscious to leave a reminder that they would be stepping from their refuge into a multicultural city. I painted signs around the button that unlocks the door to “Press Here” in English, Chinese, and Bahasa (the Malay language).

Thank You for Visiting this Project with Me

I hope this article taught you something about Malaysian history and culture. I hope too that you enjoyed seeing how I reflected this beautiful and complex society into one of its well trodden hostels.

If you liked this, consider reading 10 Reasons I Love Kuala Lumpur or visit the rest of my art gallery.

I look forward to reading your comments below.

References

1. Leinbach TR, Ahmad ZB. Malaysia. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Malaysia/The-impact-of-British-rule. Published May 2, 2019. Accessed May 7, 2019.
2. Hays J. British in Malaysia. Facts and Details. Published June 2015. Accessed April 29, 2019.
3. Spear TGP, Dikshit KR. India. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/India/History. Published May 1, 2019. Accessed May 7, 2019.
4. GDP per capita (current US$). WorldBank.org. Accessed April 29, 2019.
5. Burroughs C. These 10 emerging markets will dominate the global economy in the next decade. Business Insider. Published February 21, 2019. Accessed April 29, 2019.
6. The World Air Quality Index Project. Kuala Lumpur Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index. Accessed April 29, 2019.