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Showing posts from June, 2012

Malaysia: Truly Asia?

It is a brilliant and catchy marketing slogan: ‘Malaysia, truly Asia.’ How many tourists this phrase has attracted I don’t know. Yet it does raise the question: what does it mean and is Malaysia the role model of Asia? Asia: From Beirut to Beijing Since I have completed my 12th trip to Malaysia and umpteenth to Asia, it is time to make some comments. Regarding Asia, I have found that this continent -- the world’s largest -- is both diverse but amazingly homogenous. It is Asia that has the majority of the world’s population with 2 countries, China and India, claiming to have over 1 billion citizens each. Asia is the birthplace of all the world’s major religions. It arguably can be called a ‘democracy-challenged’ land mass, since only a handful of countries can be truly called democratic. Another way to describe Asia is ‘From Beirut to Beijing.’ So what else can we say about Asia? Asia is noted for its hospitality, importance of family, respect for education and the elderly. I