Malaysiabeckons!

By

Ibraheem Dooba

idooba@gmail.com

For the next few months, I'll be writing this column from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), where I'm doing research in psychology.  In the coming weeks, I'll share with you my experiences and impressions of the Malay society, its people and its guests.  This I hope will encourage more Nigerians (especially graduate students) to come here.
 
The first impression you get of Malaysia is that of a place where everything works. Telecommunication is excellent, water flows from taps, and you hardly have down time in their internet connection and no power outages.
 
You'll see the order and beauty of Malaysia even before your plane touched down in the lovely palm plantations, well lined houses and the almost unnatural cleanliness of the place.
 
I'm not exaggerating here.  You can travel for miles and miles without seeing a piece of paper on the road.  I've seriously looked and seriously searched for a piece of trash on the road but I didn't find any until this morning when I was taking my morning walk.  I reasoned that it may be possible for a place to be this clean but certainly not probable.  Thus, I beamed my searchlight again.  This time I went behind the trees and under the flower beds.  And behold!  I found it!  I found dirt in the streets of Malaysia!
 
If you think I engage in this frivolous activity because I don't have much to do, you're right.  The school has not resumed.  My work will commence on the 7th of July.  So I've a month to move around, read newspapers, visit shopping malls and even search for dirt in the streets.
 
I also have time to look for other Nigerians.  I'm not the only Nigerian in this school.  I was pleasantly surprised when so many Nigerians were introduced me at the Juma'a mosque.  We've very interesting and brilliant folks doing important research here.  I've met AbdulAziz Ibrahim, a jolly good fellow from Kano state who is doing PhD in community development.  I share the same hostel with an ingenious scientist from Niger state called Sule Mundi.  Sulaiman is a fellow of IDB and is doing a PhD in food technology. 
 
There's also Alhassan who's doing a master degree in Chemistry although his Bachelor was in pharmacy.  Alhassan seems to be impressed with the tools and equipment at his disposal so far.  And he pays any amount of money to attend workshops and seminars.  He told a story of how he struggled to understand a concept in his undergraduate years and how when he came here, all the pieces of the puzzle came together after he attended a day's workshop.
 
I've not conducted the census of Nigerians here but we've up to ten doing PhD and several others doing master's degree.  At least that was what Alhaji Muhammad Ajiya – another graduate student from Kano - told me.  He said there're more than five PhD students from BUK alone.  Muhammad Ajiya is doing a PhD in communication.  To him Malaysia has become a home.  He drives his own car and is here with his entire family.  I saw his children playing at the mosque on Friday.  Dr. Ibrahim Abdul Aziz from Maiduguri also has his family here. He warned me that Malaysians think Nigerians are wealthy so they charge us more.  He said I should always haggle down the price even if it's written on the product.  Mal Ibrahim Abubakar Anka from Usman Dan Fodio University is also planning to bring his wife. Mal. Anka is doing a PhD in veterinary medicine.
 
I think it's a good thing that we've so many northerners going for PhD.   The future of our education is in the hands of these young people.  Almost all of them dislike what's happening in the education system back home and are eager for a change.  Maybe these are the people that will change our education institutions for the better.  Unfortunately, they're already been whizzed away by other countries who value merit and research.  An example is the case of Sule Mundi I mentioned earlier.  A university in Canada begged him on bended knees to come and teach and to continue with his research in Canada.
 
Language
 
(Almost) every educated Malaysian understands passable English.  But the official language is Malay.  The language of instruction in schools is also Malay.  But about five years ago Dr M. (as the newspapers like to call Mahathir Muhammad, the former Prime Minister) introduced English as the language of instruction in teaching English, Mathematics and Science.
 
But communication is still difficult because in the eyes of the Malaysian, Nigerians speak too quickly.  Morgan my taxi driver friend said Nigerians speak 'hard' English.  You may see a person in a big office – in size and function – whose English is almost zilch.  Sometimes you may find it insulting when your greeting is not returned or even acknowledged.  But the ones that avoid talking to you are those that do not understand English at all.
 
Some Malaysians who can speak Arabic assume that you're from Arabic speaking country when they see you dressed in African attire. (I've not changed my mode of dressing and don't plan to). I lost my appetite at a restaurant recently and instead of leaving the food behind, I asked the lady that served me to pack it for me so that I could take it away.  The woman didn't understand me.   A gentleman came and bailed me out.  Then he started speaking Arabic to me.  I told him in a smattering Arabic that 'look, we can continue this conversation in Arabic but you'll understand me much better if we spoke English.'  He was surprised to learn that the official language in Nigeria was not Arabic.
 
Morality
 
Unlike the flesh show you see western countries, Malaysians are well dressed.  Children are well behaved and no promiscuity – at least it's not apparent.  But foreigners are changing the relative peace and security in Malaysia for the worse.  Those in the forefront of this transformation are Indonesians and – your guess was right – Nigerians!  Sometimes you wonder if Nigeria is curse to other inhabitants on this planet.   My advisor here told me that she's afraid of taking her children to the famous towers because that's where the foreigners congregate.  She reasoned that if she was in Nigeria, it's okay for her to be afraid but it's not acceptable that she should be afraid of taking her family to relaxation areas in her own country.  This is why some people are calling for tighter immigration laws in Malaysia.

In this country, it's difficult to get a taxi if you look like a Nigerian.  And each that eventually stops has a sad tale to tell about Nigerians.  Because taxi drivers are the first Malaysians Nigerians come in contact with in Malaysia and they're the ones that drive them around the cities, the taxi drivers know Nigerians better than others.   I'll tell you more about the destructive activities of Nigerians another day.  I'll also tell you about the food in Malaysia, health care, government, the recent change in fuel prices and why I feel more Nigerians (especially those who already have their first degrees) should come and study here.  It's more affordable than you think.
 
Ibraheem Dooba
Department of Education Studies
RM 181 Helang, Kolej Kedua
University Putra Malaysia