If there is one Malaysian hobby more popular than going for breakfast, then second breakfast, then lunch, then teatime, it is this:
Complaining about Malaysia while praising the UK, Australia, and the USA like they’re magical wonderlands with unlimited free parking.
You’ve heard this before:
- “UK very safe one.”
- “Australia so clean until you can eat off the floor.”
- “America got opportunity, everyone very open-minded—except the ones holding the ‘No Trespassing’ signs.”
Meanwhile in Malaysia:
Traffic jam ah? Complain.
Weather hot ah? Complain.
Government say anything? Complain-lah until the cow also shake head.
And so begins the legendary Malaysian plotline:
“Send the kids overseas for better future.”
But as always with Malaysian storytelling, got twist.
The Overseas Fantasy: 3 Versions of Heaven
**UK Version:
Tea, manners, and 400 years of cloudy weather**
Malaysians love imagining the UK as a place where people speak perfect English, line up nicely, and never argue.
“Wah, British people so proper. Here people cut queue like Formula One.”
But the first winter slap teaches our children one thing:
Proper or not, cold until your soul shivers.
**Australia Version:
Sunshine, beaches, koalas… and taxes**
Parents imagine Australia as a paradise where the air is fresher, the roads smoother, and nobody uses their headlights to communicate anger.
Reality for the kids:
Pay rent until cry, chased by magpies, and fight kangaroos for jogging space.
**USA Version:
Land of the Free, Home of the… Student Loans**
For Malaysians, America is the ultimate dreamland: big houses, big cars, big malls, big everything.
But our kids discover:
Big houses = big mortgages.
Big cars = big petrol bills.
Big malls = big temptation.
And healthcare?
One sneeze = one small bankruptcy.
Parents at KLIA: World-Class Emotional Performance
When the kids first fly off:
Parents cry like drama actors.
Kids cry.
Even the airport security uncle cry a bit.
Then the moment the plane takes off:
“Aiyo Malaysia really hopeless lah. Look at UK—got system.”
“Australia people very disciplined. Here drive like Mario Kart.”
“America got so much opportunity. Here only opportunity to stress.”
The irony?
They complain about Malaysia… from the comfort of their home fully paid off by Malaysian property prices.
Plot Twist: Overly-Successful Children
Years pass.
The Malaysian parents imagine their kids returning after graduation, settling down, starting a family, living 20 minutes away (max).
But the children become a bit too independent.
Suddenly you hear things like:
- “Mum, I got job offer here, the pay very good.”
- “Dad, I’m applying for PR first, easier for career.”
- “I’ll visit during summer… or next year… maybe.”
This “maybe” hurts more than GST.
Grandchildren Who Sound Like Foreign Exchange Students
Then come the grandchildren.
Cute, lovable, polite… and utterly confused by Malaysia.
In Malaysia:
“Grandpa, why is the chicken so spicy?”
“Grandma, why got so many motorbikes everywhere?”
“Daddy, why everybody shout when they talk?”
You bring them to eat durian:
Trauma.
These grandchildren can pronounce “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
but cannot say “lah.”
The Parents Grow Older… and the Complaints Change
One day, the same parents who used to complain:
“Aiyo Malaysia cannot make it lah,”
now complain a different tune:
“Why my children don’t come back?”
“Why they prefer UK cold, Australia dry, America dangerous?”
“Why Malaysia so good, food so nice, people so warm… but the house still so empty?”
Suddenly Malaysia’s flaws feel small.
Suddenly the distance feels big.
Suddenly the praised countries don’t seem like paradise—
they seem like thieves that stole their children.
The Daily Durian Moral of the Story
It’s not wrong to love the UK, Australia, or the USA.
All countries have good and bad.
But some Malaysians forget one thing:
Sending children overseas gives them opportunities…
but also roots them somewhere else.
You may gain a doctor in London,
an engineer in Melbourne,
a software developer in California—
But you may lose someone who would have driven you to the clinic,
helped you change your lightbulb,
sat with you during thunderstorms,
and argued with you about where to eat.
In the end, the biggest complaint isn’t about Malaysia’s traffic, weather, or politics.
It’s about this:
Growing old in a house filled with memories
but empty of the people you raised.
The Daily Durian (zaynp100@yahoo.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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