Malaysia is made up of society from different ethnics and races.

Every ethnic has its own

customs and beliefs that are being practiced by a particular group. Most of the people obey
to their customs and beliefs as they believe that these two aspects are part of important
elements in their lives as well as help them to maintain the traditions of their ethnics to be
passed down to their next generation. Customs is defined asa cultural idea that describes a
regular, patterned way of appearing or behaving that is considered characteristic of life in a
social system (Crossman). Beliefs is viewed as assumptions and convictions that are held
to be true, by an individual or a group, regarding concepts, events, people and things.
(Business Dictionary). Customs and beliefs of each ethnic are different from one another and
has its own specialty. There are four main dominant groups in Malaysian community which
are Malays, Chinese, Indian, Sabahan and Sarawakian.
Malays are popular with their politeness and their characteristics of being gentle and kind
towards others. (A. Rashid, Ying, Syed Ahmad, & A. Majid, 2014). Normally, the customs are
originated and inherited from their ancestors and being practiced from one generation to next
generation until today. There are a few customs that are still commonly being practiced by
the Malays society nowadays. For example, the tradition when visiting family members or
acquaintances. The Malay custom teach the Malays to greet the occupant of the house or
announce their presences. Usually, the Islamic manner of greeting Assalamualaikum is
uttered loudly enough for the occupants of the house to hear. Other custom that is being
inculcated in Malays is the use of right hand when eating. For the Muslims especially, it is
taboo to use the left hand for eating purposes. All good acts such as holding a copy of the
Holy Quran, touching someone, giving or receiving something are need to be done using the
right hand. If someone gives or receives something using left hand, it is considered as rude.
There are also some beliefs that most of the Malays still believe in such asif a person
pointing at a rainbow it will make his finger drop off, a girl who sings in the kitchen is fated to
marry an old man and if cats are allowed to jump over a corpse it will sit up as a ghost (Dalat,
2004).
The customs and beliefs of Chinese are quite unique compared to other races. This is
because their daily lives and activities are largely influenced by their environment and
caused them to solely rely on their fate. Soothsayer plays important in Chinese society where
he is viewed as an expert to refer about anything regarding birth, marriage or death. (A.
Rashid, Ying, Syed Ahmad, & A. Majid, 2014). There are a few types of customs that are
being practiced by Chinese community until now. Table manner is one the biggest aspect that
all the Chinese should obey to. For example, when the Chinese want to do the drinking toast,
it is recommended to tap the table twice and stand up. At a banquet, it is polite at the end of
the meal a person leave a little on the plate to demonstrate the generosity of the host. Other

than that, Chinese is very strict about respecting each other especially respect towards the
elders. It is a must for the Chinese to greet the oldest person first as a sign of respect. Some
of the examples of beliefs in Chinese community are do not point your finger when calling
someone because this gesture is used for dogs and if there is a death, Chinese are not
allowed to wear black, grey and blue colours as these colours are symbolized as bad luck for
the family of the dead person (Hinsbergh, 2015).
Indian community is the third biggest ethnic in Malaysia. They also have their own
customs and beliefs that are strongly held by the Indian in order to maintain their traditions
until now. There are a few customs that are being practiced by the Indian. For example, in
dressing, Indian are forbidden to wear tight clothes that expose skin as it shows that you are
either too poor to dress well or that you are shameless about showing your body to others.
While for the customs regarding the table manners, Indian use to eat with their hands as
forks and knives are not traditionally used by the Indian for eating. Other than that, most of
the Indian are vegeterian and they do not eat beef because the animals like cows are
considered as their god. While for greetings, Indian will fold their hands, bow their head and
say Namaste when greeting. There are some beliefs that influence they way of living of
Indian. For example, it is advisable to wrap a gift in green, red or yellow because those
colours are considered lucky. Other than that is do not give frangipani or white flowers to
Indian as it is used for funerals (Indian Ettiquette Tips, 2014).
Sabah covers almost 30 tribes and about 80 different dialects. Sabahan is made up of
Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut and Kelabit. (A. Rashid, Ying, Syed Ahmad, & A. Majid, 2014).
The culture in Sabah is very unique in its own way. For example, the Kadazan-Dusuns
practice rituals such as kaamatan (harvest festival) to celebrate the harvest and give thanks
for the bountiful crops. This ritual will be carried out by a Bobohizan (a female bomoh).
While for the Bajaus who are mostly Muslims, they practice religious ceremonies such as
khatan (circumcision) and akad nikah (marriage). However, there are also some beliefs that
the Sabahan adhere to. For the Kadazan-Dusuns, when someone dies, the burial process
involve the whole community. Fires are lit to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. In Bajau
community, there are four norms that the Bajaus should

take seriously which are

relationships between men and women, engagement, marriage and divorce. (Nordin &
Hussiin, 2011)
In Sarawak, the Ibans is considered as the largest tribe. One of the most popular ritual
practiced by the Sarawakians from previous century is headhunting. A man would hunt for
heads of the enemy to demonstrate his warrior skills to his future in-laws (Nordin & Hussiin,
2011). However, this is no longer practised. Sarawakians live in longhouses and this tradition

is still existed until nowadays. Other custom being practised when a baby is born, the mother
will put salt into its mouth. This tradition is called ngetup garam. However, there are also
some beliefs and taboos that most of the Sarawakians still adhere to and practice it. For
example, during pregnancy, the Ibans spouse need to obey to some taboos stated in their
tribes. They are not allowed to knock the eggs using knives to avoid the baby from be blind
and they are also forbidden from carrying sharp bricks to avoid the baby from being
paralysed. (A. Rashid, Ying, Syed Ahmad, & A. Majid, 2014).
These customs and beliefs portray the uniqueness and colourful of a multiracial society
in Malaysia. Each individual should understand and explore about the customs and beliefs of
other cultures in order to help them accept and respect cultural differences in our society so
that Malaysia can become a harmony and peaceful country to live in.