Differences between Indonesia & Malaysia

Differences between Indonesia & Malaysia from a retired German
lecturer P. Feisenberg who had worked in Penang during Tunku's days
and in Jakarta in Suharto's time. An interesting account of his
observations and gloomy prediction of the future of a young nation ...

A big divide between the two countries yet they live next to each
other and both are Muslim countries.

Is this because there is a Mahathir ( and an UMNO ) in one whereas
there is none in the other ?

I always tell my friend that Indonesia is not the best country in the
world to work and live but since working in Indonesia for about 5
years, I don’t have the feeling that I am living in a Muslim country
despite 93% of Indonesians are Muslim. 99.9% of my colleagues are
Muslim and we go for lunch and dinner together and sometimes to a
Chinese restaurant that served pork and there is no fuss about it.
(For your information – the people who sell pork are Muslim – bosses
are Chinese and employ Indonesian Muslim to cut and sell pork in the
wet markets)

All 5-star hotels served pork bacon and ham for breakfast and are
prepared by Muslim.

Alcohol is sold everywhere in the street… and Indonesia No 1 selling
beer is “Bintang” and is brewed locally and is consumed by all Muslim
openly. No issue….

During fasting month the Muslims are free to decide if they want to
fast or eat as normal… no issue at all and no one catch them..

The president and vice president are elected by the people and so are
the governors of the city (in Malaysia we call them Mentri Besar). No
one is appointed by the President or in Malaysia by the PM.

National holidays – Hari Raya Idul Fitri is 2 days and Chinese New
Year is 1 day but Christian enjoy 3 days – Christmas, Ascension of
Christ and Good Friday. The Hindu in Bali has 1 day for Hari Raya
Nyepi celebrated only in Bali. Wesak day is also a public holiday.

A Muslim can convert to a Christian tomorrow and then to a Buddhist
the next day…and back to a Muslim. ….no issue at all.

In supermarket pork is sold side by side with chicken and beef….no
issue at all…..

I can go on and on…….in short Indonesia is a very liberal Muslim
country.. definitely not Malaysia. FYI our Malaysian senior government
officer “suka Indonesia ”…you know why!!!

Subject: Another Report: Why I left for our ‘poorer’ neighbour — Indonesia

This writer is absolutely correct and gave a very fair view of
Indonesia. I have been in and out of Indonesia for the past 10 years.
Sometimes, my stay is up to one month per visit. I have worked with
senior Indonesia managers as well as low level staff. I have also
interacted with lots of direct sellers from all sorts of background. I
have dealt with the Indonesian civil servants.

They don't talk about race. The mass media do not propagate racial or
religious divides. They don't spin story of Christian fighting the
Muslim or Muslim fighting the Christian. Husband and wife can have
different religious belief. There is not such fuss as Halal
restaurant. Tony Roma in Indonesia serves the best pork rib. In all
the Tony Roma restaurants Muslim and non Muslim sit and eat together
on one table. I ate pork rib, my Muslim colleagues ate beef and lamb.
There is no such thing as a Halal and non Halal section.

Comparing the environment and the working culture in Indonesia between
pre 1998 (Suharto's era) and the year 2008, you can see the vast
improvement in Indonesia civil services.

During Suharto era, my visit to Tax office (Kantor Pajak) cannot be
done without carrying cash for coffee money. The tax
officer will always start with " Pak dari Malaysia mahu chak kopi
dulu". And this small favor money must be given and openly counted on
his desk before any discussion.

My last visit in 2008 to the government office (Departmen Pentadbiran,
you cannot use Jabatan Kerajaan. They hated the Raja), you cannot even
mention anything about "Kopi". See the vast difference. SYB sent his
own brother-in-law to jail. Suharto's youngest son, Tommy Suharto was
jailed. Do you see this in Malaysia ?

Malaysia is rotting. And the writer is absolutely correct. If the
situation is not changed, Malaysia will be the biggest exporter of
maids to Indonesia, 10 years down the road. Padam muka orang orang
kampong.

Muslims in Indonesia have no problem with patronizing outlets that
sell alcohol or non-halal food, even if they choose not to have any.
In Malaysia, the Muslims make a big fuss over small things which they
claim are not halal. You may argue that there are fanatics here in
Indonesia, but the number is small relative to the population. Just
look around Malaysia. Everywhere you look, you get fanatics.