Selamat Datang to Malaysia

      My name is Zarah and this is my story.

      I have been in the IT industry for more than a decade and in the course of my work, I have traveled far and wide. In those travel, I dealt with people of different race and culture, of different religion and beliefs, of different sizes and shapes. But there is one country that I took the risk of relocating to….. Malaysia.

     Philippines is not far from Malaysia. In history, Malaysia and the Philippines are connected through the Sabah province as this used to be in the Philippine’s territory.

      It is my first time in the Malaysia. My first time to come in contact with Muslims as close as I can possibly be. Philippines is dominated by Christian faith however, Muslim beliefs is not new as we have Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao which is near Sabah, Malaysia. With all the conflicts of the muslim and Christian faith in the Philippines, I came to think that it is hard to live in the country dominated by Muslim.

      One day, an opportunity for me to come and live in Malaysia arrived. I fell in love with someone who is working in Kuching and for me to be near him, I have to find a job that could easily take me to where he is. At first I fear that I won’t survive but as I get to know the culture, I find myself falling in love with the place. The country is rich in culture. I gain a lot of muslim friends. I learned about their culture. And most of all, I learned that the key to a harmonious relationship is have respect for each other.

       Selamat Datang to Malaysia…. now my second home.