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By Mihar Dias September 2025
If Tripadvisor ever did a category for police stations, Malaysians would be in for a culture shock.
Take Singapore’s balai, for example. A visitor recently raved that it “smelled like Changi Airport.” Focus Malaysia
Think: air-conditioning at perfect chill, not a whiff of smoke, staff in crisp uniforms greeting you with efficiency that could rival airline check-in counters.
Lose your passport at 11pm? No problem. Sorted in 30 minutes. You half expect them to hand you a hot towel and boarding pass.
Now cross over the Causeway, and the Malaysian version is… how shall we say… a different vibe. The décor is vintage “rokok jamming studio.” You walk in and instantly wonder if you’ve stumbled into the backstage of a rock concert circa 1998.
And this is in a country where smoking in offices, restaurants and public buildings has been banned for years! Yet, somehow, the balai is a magical exemption zone where rules are as flexible as a mamak table at 3am.
One story making the rounds: a young man summoned to CID wasn’t greeted with the usual “please state your name” but with “do you smoke?” Answer “yes” and suddenly you’re in a three-hour interrogation-slash-smoke-break with the investigating officer. Focus Malaysia
Who needs truth serum when you’ve got nicotine therapy?
Of course, some might argue this is the Malaysian touch — our police are approachable, relaxed, and always up for a puff. But professionalism isn’t about being relak one corner.
When your government has outlawed smoking in kopitiams, yet your police stations still smell like an ashtray, it’s hard to take the “ban” seriously.
Compare again: Hong Kong and Singapore cops? “Top notch,” according to travellers. Indonesia? The officers were too busy watching a movie. Malaysia? We’ll eventually get to you… after the ciggie break.
Maybe it’s time for an upgrade. If Singapore can give us “Changi chic,” surely Malaysia can manage something better than “Uncle’s kedai kopi after a long night.”
Stick an air freshener in every balai, enforce the no-smoking rule like everywhere else, and who knows — maybe one day our balai reviews will read: “Professional, efficient, and smells like lavender.”
Until then, travellers beware: bring your passports, your patience… and a portable air purifier.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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