I knocked on my stomach and entered Chinatown. From the entrance, shops selling various items are lined up. They range from houses that cut ripe fruits to make them easy to eat, to houses that sell bags with designs that you saw at first glance. It has a roof, so it is worth walking even in the intense afternoon.
But that’s it. After leaving the main street, the damp wind and sunlight from the morning rain were holding on, but I hurried my steps pretending not to see it. Short-distance travelers do not have much choice.
On the other side of the road is the ‘Guan di Temple ‘ . It is a Taoist temple that worships Guan Yu as the god of war and wealth. Inside, I saw many people burning incense and bowing their heads.
“Why do Chinese people like Guan Yu? Chinese people’s favorite historical figure, if you do something like this, you’re always in the top ten?”
The party whispered as they looked at Guan Yu, who sat solemnly with the blue dragon and moon sword in his hand.
“You’re the most unrealistic of the characters in the Three Kingdoms. Look at saving Jojo, who was defeated and running away in the Red Cliff Battle. Jegal Gongmyeong has already declared that if Jojo is lost, he will slit his throat. That’s why when Guan Yu saved Jojo, he risked his own life. Like this Is there a person who values loyalty in reality? We are so busy getting stabbed in the back of the head every time we meet someone in our lives, but isn’t it amazing that someone risking their lives to repay the favor? That’s what strikes people’s heartstrings.”
“Did you really live only getting hit in the back of the head by the people you meet? Did you hit me too?”
The group looks at me with a pathetic expression.
“No, that’s what you mean.”
After walking a few steps from Guandi Temple, the colorful temple caught my eye. He is the ‘Sri Maha Mariamman’ temple, the oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur. People lined up at the entrance of the temple were engrossed in prayer with their shirts off. I could see people bowing their heads toward the inside of the door, obscured by the smoked incense, people hitting themselves with something like a tree trunk, and people sitting with their hands together. I don’t dare to go inside as everyone is concentrating.
Indians began migrating to Malaysia as laborers on rubber plantations in 1877. Unlike the Chinese, they belonged to the rubber plantation as contract workers.
The caste system unique to Indians and various religions and languages have become barriers to increasing power by forming factions like the Chinese community. Starting with rubber plantations, Indians settled down as brick producers, railroad workers, and railroad managers, and the starting point was the ‘Sri Maha Mariamman’ temple.
Looking around the temples was satisfied at this point and headed to the Central Market. There are crosswalks and traffic lights on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. However, few locals seem to follow it. Cross the road if there is no car, and stop if there is one.
It is difficult to be relieved that a car will stop just because the green light is on at the crosswalk (a large percentage of cars do stop, but from the driver’s point of view, they pass quietly if there are no pedestrians). There were also quite a few cars on the road leading to the Central Market, but we crossed the road at a red light following the locals who were crossing the street.
In 1888, under the leadership of the British Government General, the area around the current Central Market is being developed as a market. The space where many stores gathered suffered a crisis of dismantling in 1985, but in 1986 it was renovated and transformed into the current ‘Central Market’. The air conditioner blows cool inside the market. I naturally feel like buying something. Shops selling crafts and souvenirs are located on the first floor, and shops selling traditional Malaysian textiles and clothing are located on the second floor.
“Sister, you are pretty.”
We stopped at her words that came out of the mouth of a woman in her 50s wearing a hijab. I know it’s a commercial comment, but what’s the point of going over it once? There was no price tag attached, so there was a chance that I would be overcharged, but I rummaged through clothes with the mindset that I couldn’t do it. The one-piece dress we finally picked up was 10,000 won for our money. It’s not bad.
“It’s impossible to go around any more.”
No matter who said it first, we agreed to finish the day at this point. so hot.
Calling Grab (a car-sharing company) back to the hotel, we stared blankly at the people taking pictures in front of the Central Park sculpture토토사이트. Because of the heat, I didn’t have the fighting spirit or motivation to do anything in particular. Even the appetite is gone. Wouldn’t the Malays who have continued to live on this land be like that too?
In order to live in such a hot place without civilization like an air conditioner, I would have had no choice but to shrink and be lazy as much as possible in the current weather. I understood the feelings of the Malays a hundred times. But the British thought differently.
After the Pangkor Treaty, the proportion of Malays in Malaysia’s population dropped to less than half. The influx of Chinese and Indians was enormous. In the eyes of the British, ‘lazy Malays’ had little economic value. Instead, it actively encouraged the immigration of Chinese and Indians, who were considered more industrious races.
At the same time, on the other hand, he created a system named ‘Preferential Policy for Malays’. The formal and ceremonial status of the sultan was guaranteed, and the sons of Malay aristocrats were employed as low-level colonial officials. In the name of protecting traditional Malay society and culture, most Malays were forced to stay in rural areas. Unsurprisingly, Malay society has moved away from the trend of modernization. Instead, groups of immigrants became subordinate agents of colonial capitalism, modernized, educated, and attained a measure of wealth.
The Great Depression of the 1930s also took a toll on Malaysia’s economy. More Chinese flock to Malaysia. Between 1891 and 1931, Malaysia’s population was 35% Malay, 42% Chinese, and 22% Indian. The de-Malayization of Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur was even worse. The racial conflict that is now prevalent in Malaysian society is not a natural occurrence, but a legacy of the British colonial era.
Thus, for the needs of the British, a small number of Malays occupied the upper echelons of society. The wealth of society was in the hands of the Chinese. Most Malays were poorly educated and poor. Now how did this society move when the British got out?
Addendum | You can also read this article at Jian’s brunch.