H is for Hospitality

Written by : Gloria Ngu

“Have you had lunch yet?”

Typical Malaysian hospitality, I thought, as the gruff but fatherly man threw this question at us almost immediately after we stepped foot in his 20-year-old Honda. Uncle Danny, the brother of our host, took us to a mamak stall and insisted on paying for our lunch.

Kimberly and I were on our semester break, and we had decided to intern online with eHomemakers. As we did not have classes, we decided to take on a task: travel to Ipoh and gather video footage of Jenny Pong.

We went to Ipoh expecting a long, arduous time of filming. So it came as a pleasant surprise when we were treated as close relatives and welcomed with warmth and love. The family showed their concern for us, helping us get ready our sleeping quarters, easing our unfamiliarity with the place by explaining more about it to us, even bringing us out to town at night after the filming had been done. They could have chosen not to do this. After all, we were just a couple of teenagers who were supposed to get footage, that’s all. They could have let us take the video, said thank you and goodbye then kicked us out to find our own accommodation and food. But they did not. In fact, they went beyond what a normal person would do and took care of us just as our parents would.

Inadvertently, I linked this to my time in Bario. Under Project WHEE!, I went to Bario, Sarawak and was paired with a local lady. In my 15 days there, I shadowed Aunty Catherine, whom I would come to know as ee, mother, and I taught her English based on her context. We did not share the same mother tongue, and our communication was done through our limited bank of Bahasa Malaysia. Generally, we did not share much in common asides from the fact that we were both women. But she showed me true Malaysian hospitality, offering me what little she had, whether it was food or trinkets.

Aunty Jenny is from Ipoh, Aunty Catherine is from Bario. What links these two ladies, you might ask.

They both come from compromised circumstances. They are both the caretakers of the house and their families. They are both strong, independent women. They both freely gave even though they did not have much.

The hospitality that they showed us exceeded merely courteous gestures; they cared for us just as they would their own children. It was a very moving experience for both Kimberly and I.

Bario, Ipoh, KL… We are all part of Malaysia. Our cultures and traditions may differ from each other, but at the very core, we are held together by our love for each other and our acceptance of each other’s differences, both of which is shown by our true Malaysian hospitality.