Malaysia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs Culture by Victor King

Author:Victor King
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, Travel, Southeast Asia, Illustrated, Malaysia, Guide
ISBN: 9781787022768
Publisher: Kuperard
Published: 2008-06-03T01:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

THE MALAYSIANS AT HOME

HOUSING

There is a great variety of house styles in Malaysia, based on the different architectural designs and artistic traditions of the different ethnic groups, and also on regional variations in Malay and Dayak house forms. There are also many examples of modern built forms. Traditionally, and still in some rural areas today, Malays lived in houses raised on stilts or piles above the ground and made of wood, thatch, palm leaves, and bark. Openings such as windows, doors, and verandas, and the use of natural materials that “breathe,” demonstrate that these houses are designed to catch the breezes and allow a free flow of air. Stilted dwellings also provide protection against flood, extra storage space, and shelter for domestic animals. Even where the traditional design and layout remain, Malay housing is now more likely to comprise brick, concrete, tiles, glass, and plaster, though the raised brick house now provides convenient car-parking space below the living quarters. There is a great range of styles.

For the Chinese the traditional two-story terraced urban shop house was the norm; it can still be seen in most towns and cities. Business is conducted at the front of the premises, which opens on to a covered walkway connecting the separate houses, and the building then stretches back to contain the living quarters of the extended family on the ground and first floors. Indian merchants also usually occupied some of this shop house space in towns. In Malaysian Borneo, on the other hand, you can still see traditional Dayak longhouses, which in effect accommodate a whole village, the separate families living in terraced compartments raised on stilts, under one roof, and connected by a covered veranda which serves as the village street. Again, these longhouses are increasingly being built with modern materials, or are replaced with single family dwellings.

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