Advises For Tourists During The Stay In Malaysia

1. Rules And Regulations of The Country

It is very important that all tourists follow the rules and regulations of the country. Malaysia is a very environmental friendly country and we protect our mother nature very well. So, these are the basic rules and regulations to follow:

i) Smoking : In most public places and air conditioned rooms in Malaysia you are not allowed to smoke. The penalty will be at RM500.

ii) Littering : In most cities in Malaysia, there are the dark blue coloured uniformed town councilor officers who will fine those people who are caught litter around.

iii) Drugs: Malaysia is also internationally well known for its tough law against drug. We have the death penalty for those caught trafficking drugs.

2) Passport And Valuables

Please be careful that your passport and valuable items are taken care at all times. Here are some examples of crimes happened in Malaysia and it is my hope that upon knowing and realizing the crimes in Malaysia, every care is taken care of the valuables.

i) Snatches

There have been many cases of snatches of handbags in Malaysia and very unfortunately that this crime is still on the rise. The Malaysia authorities have taken lots of measures to prevent this crime among tourists and Malaysians by deploying more polices at the main roads of the cities.

Usually the robber will be riding the motorcycle and snatch the handbag and speeding away. This usually happen at places which is dark or places where there is hardly any people around.

So, it is very important that passports are not left in the handbag. Its best to leave the passport in the safety box of the hotel room or at the safety box at the reception. Should you need to carry along the passport, then it is always advisable to put the passport in the trouser’s pocket. This is so much safer than putting the passport in the handbag because in Malaysia, pick pockets are lesser than snatchers.

It is also advisable that not all cash is put in the handbag. It is best to separate the cash to different pockets and the handbag as well. The best policy is to just bring enough cash for spending and not to carry handbag around.

ii) Pick Pockets

Even though pick pockets do happen in Malaysia, however it is so much fewer cases compared to snatchers. The pick pockets syndicates are usually carried out by the Phillipinoes in Malaysia. The Phillipinoes usually carry out the activity pick pocketing in groups of four to six persons. They use various methods and techniques in order to pick pocket the victims. Please be very careful at crowded places for example at the shopping centres, bus stops, stations, etc. These are the techniques which are usually used during pick pocketing.

a) At escalator, there will be a person who will accidently dropped the coins around. Because it is crowded and everyone will try to help to collect the coins dropped. So, this is when the pick pockets will go into action.

b) At the lift, a handicapped person will accidentally fall down upon entering the lift. Upon seeing the handicap person fall down, usually people will try to help him. This when the pick pocket goes into action.

iii) Hypnotis

These hipnotis are usually done by the middle east people. They portray themselves as tourists as well. They usually consist of a family. The wife will usually carry a baby along to reduce the suspect of the tourists. They will usually try to befriend the tourists at the tourists spots by asking the victim to help them to take a photo for them. After befriending the victim, the husband will ask where did the victim come from. Then usually the husband will say he has never seen the currency of the country the victim originated. He will take out a piece USD 10 to change the currency or asking for loose change. When the victim took out the wallet, usually what happened after that, the victim will not know because the victim will be in hypnotized situation. When the middle east people left, then the victim will realize that part of the money in the wallet has been taken.

Adivice: Because Malaysia is a multiracial country, as a foreigner in the country, its very difficult for tourists to know who the criminals are from. Usually, the Indonesians look like the local Malays, the Bangladeshis look like the Indians, etc. So, its important that when you are approached by someone who you do not know, its best not to befriend them.

3) Take off shoes

As Malaysia is a Muslim country, there are a lot of places which required the tourists to take off the shoes.

When we enter the Malay houses for visit, generally we are required to take off the shoes. In fact, most of Malaysians, through the influenced of the Malays, take off shoes before entering the house.

Mosque is a prayer place and should be clean at all time. As such all tourists are required to take off shoes upon entering the mosque.

4) Be careful And Know How To Differentiate Between Prayer Rooms And Toilets

We can differentiate a toilet and a prayer room through the picture signboard on the door.

The prayer room for the males will have a picture of a male wearing a songkok ( a black color hat for the Malays during prayer ). The prayer room for the females will have a picture of a female wearing a head scarf.

As for the male toilet, the picture of the male is without the songkok and the female toilet is the picture of the female without the head scarf.

5) Respect The Local Lifestyle And Culture

As Malaysia is Truly Asia, most of the traditional culture of the Asians are still practiced. As such its very important as a tourist in Malaysia, one has to respect and follow the lifestyle of the locals. For example, it’s not good for a couple to hug or kiss each other in the public.

Please take note that the above mentioned advises are only in general form. There are some special advises to be noted as and when the tourists are in the tourists spots. For example when at the King’s Palace, do not stand too near to the horses for photography.

And again I should stressed that even I emphasized that there are snatches and pick pockets, please do not misunderstand that Malaysia is not safe. It is still very safe to travel all around in Malaysia. I always believe that no matter where we are, it is always important that we must know how to take care of our valuables.

For further information of some tips of warnings and look outs for tourists while in Malaysia, please go to: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah_Persekutuan/Kuala_Lumpur-1282074/Warnings_or_Dangers-Kuala_Lumpur-BR-1.html