On 25 Apr 2005 19:36:10 -0700, neilsf1975@yahoo.com.au wrote:
[snip]
>The S/SW of the country is ethnically more mixed then the E/NE of the
>country - the E/NE being more Malay/Muslim. This means you may need to
>be a little more patient at times, especially if folk have headed off
>to Friday prayers when you were expecting their help!
Good advice.
> An american girl
>that I met said that she felt quite uncomfortable while there because
>she perceived that many men were uncomfortable around her.
[snip]
I think it would still be considered unusual for a single Malay woman
to travel by herself in Terengganu or Kelantan purely for tourism (and
therefore, the locals find it strange for a foreign woman to do so),
but I still wonder what the American girl was wearing. If you are
travelling on the East Coast, dress modestly. There's no reason for
non-Muslim women to cover their hair, but no shorts (no short pants
for men, either, I'd say) and no skimpy shirts. (Long pants or skirts
are fine.) Cover your legs and torso, and at least part if not all of
your arms. If you don't - especially if you show your legs or torso -
don't be surprised if men think you're loose. People there have the
stereotype that Westerners are promiscuous, anyway. Kelantan is not
Arabia, but in terms of dress and certain other things, it's a lot
more like the Arab world than it used to be. But don't be fooled; this
isn't Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, and those women with head scarves
in the pasar (market) and driving their cars and motorcycles to their
shops are making money and are respected and sometimes influential
members of their communities. And in the approrpriate setting, they
will talk to you forthrightly and state their opinions. I'm still in
touch via email with an impressive Kelantanese woman with whom I had a
conversation in an internet center in Kota Bharu in 2003.
Michael
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