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Showing posts with the label social behaviour

Why Malaysians Can’t Escape WhatsApp Political Spam

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Why Malaysians Can’t Escape WhatsApp Political Spam If there is one thing more reliable than Malaysian weather being hot and humid, it is the unstoppable flood of political messages inside WhatsApp groups. Family group, office group, school alumni group, neighbourhood group, even the “Friday futsal” group—no space is safe. Somewhere between a good morning flower GIF and a forwarded recipe for sambal, there will always be that one political message nobody asked for. And once it arrives, the chaos begins. The typical WhatsApp political spam has a very recognisable style. It starts with an urgent tone: “IMPORTANT! Please read until the end!” followed by ten paragraphs of dramatic claims, questionable facts, and a suspicious lack of sources. Sometimes there is a blurry screenshot. Sometimes a voice note from an “insider.” Occasionally a video clip edited so heavily it looks like it survived five generations of forwarding. But accuracy is not the point. The real goal is cir...
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The Normalisation of Rudeness in Malaysian Daily Life

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The Normalisation of Rudeness in Malaysian Daily Life Malaysia likes to tell itself a comforting story: that we are a polite, smiling, harmonious society. We pride ourselves on saying terima kasih , holding doors open, and greeting strangers with a friendly nod. But step outside the marketing brochure and into everyday life—on the road, in queues, online comment sections—and the truth becomes painfully obvious. Rudeness is no longer the exception. It has quietly become the default setting. Take Malaysian roads as Exhibit A. Indicators are apparently optional accessories, like fuzzy dice or bumper stickers. Drivers cut lanes with the confidence of royalty claiming territory. Honking isn’t a warning; it’s a personality trait. If someone actually gives way politely, it feels like witnessing a rare wildlife sighting. Then there’s the queue culture—or lack of it. In theory, Malaysians believe in lining up. In practice, queues are treated like loose suggestions rather than so...
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