Salam
My article 'Ramadhan in Malaysia' in Quintimes.
This year, in Malaysia, Ramadhan starts on the evening of
July 8th, 2013 and ends on Hari Raya Eid Fitri which marks the end of the
Ramadhan on the evening of August ,7th 2012. This is the day we celebrate Hari
Raya Eid Fitri, a national holiday.
Ramadan is known around the world as the Muslim’s month of
fasting, during which Muslims refrain from eating anddrinking from dawn until
sunset. Most think that Ramadhan is all about not eating, but in Malaysia it is
about eating just not during the day. It can, however, be a festival of eating
all night long. In Malaysia we are considered lucky as most of the time we fast
around 14 hours as the day and the night is almost equal in time. Some parts of
the world like Northern Europe can reach up to 20 hours of fasting. Whereby
others, like Argentina, fast for only 5 hours.
In the early week of Ramadhan it is common to encounter some
of people who are grumpy or just plain frustrated from not eating during the
day, but once they adjust to not eating during the day everyone gets back to ‘normal’.
Some may experience the days to be a bit slow and less vibrant but here, in
Malaysia, people work, do business and exercise as usual even though we only
can eat before the sunrise and after the sunset.
Malaysia Boleh!
In bigger cities like Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru or
Georgetown, you will hardly notice anything different, mainly because the
percentage of Muslims is much lower. For example Chinese or Indian residences
will still eat during the day. However, in almost every popular tourist spot in
Malaysia a meal can be had during the day. The same goes for the eateries
within shopping malls. In more local areas like Kelantan, Kedah and Kuala
Terengganu, it is clearly visible when shops and restaurants stay closed during
the day. Only around noon are they open to sell food for later that day since you
can only start eating after sundown.
During the day both cities seemed deserted, but at night it
pleasantly comes back to life. Though days might be quiet and perhaps less vibrant,
the nights absolutely make up for it. In the evenings you may notice a food
court full with people while everybody sits quietly with a hot plate in front
of them, yet nobody is eating. Once the ‘Adzan Maghrib’ starts, which is
normally around 7:30 pm, it is the sign to ‘break the fast’ also known as ‘Berbuka
Puasa or Iftar’ and soon after everyone begins to eat giving the food court its
typical buzzing sound again.
During
Ramadan all major hotels and restaurants have a special Ramadan buffet where
you can eat as much as you want for a fixed price. Often the best hotels compete
with each other for the best Ramadan dinner buffet. Most of the local muslim
and the nonmuslim will bring their families to these restaurants to join the ‘break
the fast’. It is quite a fascinating culture we have in Malaysia. It is also
customary to invite people over for an intimate dinner at home as Ramadan is
also about doing good things for others. Welcoming guests into our home is a
symbol of friendliness towards others.
Every
day during Ramadan you can witness the local Ramadan Bazaars. Here you can buy
food, groceries, fruits and snacks. Some snacks that are typically sold during
Ramadan are often very sweet. Food at the Bazaar is usually quite cheap. They
usually open around 4:30 pm and close at 8:00 pm. Typical dishes you can buy at
the Bazaar are fried chicken wings and legs, char kueh teow, roti murtabak, rendang,
satay, ketupat and much more. Popular snacks are kuih lapis (in several
colors), kuih dadar, ondeh ondeh, cucur, caramel, jelly cake and of course
dodol. No Bazaar is complete without a sugar cane juice vendor. The great thing
is that everything is
prepared fresh on the spot.
After
the ‘break the fast’, we have another activity in the mosques called ‘Terawih
prayer” until around 11:00 pm.Normally during Ramadhan, we start our day as
early as 4:00 am for ‘morning breakfast’ or “Sahur” and continue fasting during
the day until we complete our day at 11:00 pm. Since Ramadhan is a holy month
for the Muslim, everyone will try their best to follow the activities for next 30
days despite their day-to-day schedules.
The
end of Ramadhan is the celebration of ‘Hari Raya Eidil Fitri’ where we go back to
our normal routine…especially at the meal times.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and Maaf Zahir Batin.
SirNoordin2013
