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1. Identify any THREE different cultures available locally and/or internationally. Give
introduction/background about the cultures.
Malaysia is a multi -racial country living in peace and harmony. The three main races in
Malaysia are Malays, Chinese and Indians. Malays are the largest race, making up 54%
of Malaysia's population. Malays are a Muslim race, speak Malay and practice Malay
culture. The Malays have an important influence in the political arena in Malaysia. The
Chinese represent 25% of Malaysia's population and live in large cities on the west coast
of the peninsula. Most Chinese are Buddhist, Taoist or Christian, speak Mandarin,
Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese or Teochew and are more dominant in economics. India
makes up 7.5% of the population. Most are Hindus, speak Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi.
Apart from that, there are also Sikhs, Eurasian or Eurasian and other bumiputera races.
Malay is the official language of Malaysia, but English is used for business.

Of these three main ethnicities, the Malays play the most dominant role in politics.
Mother tongue Malay is used as the medium of instruction as well is the official national
language. The main celebration at among the Malays in Malaysia is Hari Raya Aidilfitri,
which is closely related to the Malaysian constitution which placing the Malay race as a
religious automatic Islam. Popular Malay food consists of nasi lemak, satay, goulash, and
soto.

Among the Chinese, which is a nation second dominant in Malaysia, more economic
activity motivated to venture into business. Four major dialects used in pronunciation and
the main one is Hokkien and Cantonese. The majority of them are Buddhists in addition
to professing the beliefs of Taoism and Confucianism. The biggest festival celebrated is
the Chinese New Year, which is the biggest celebration in Southeast Asia can be felt in
Malaysia and Singapore. Between popular meals in Chinese society are Bak Kut Teh,
Bakkwa, Mee Cantonese fried and chai tow kway.

The Indians, on the other hand, originally started with success estates, but now 15.5 per
cent of the Indian race is a professional worker in Malaysia including doctors (28.4
percent), lawyers (26.8 percent) and dentists (21 percent). Among the Indians, they can
be known as Tamil, Malayali and Telugu, but Hinduism is the main religion practiced by
86.2 percent the Malaysian Indian community. The main festival celebrated is Deepavali
 or Diwali and Thaipusam. Famous food among Indians are Thosai, Idli, Appam and
Briyani.

2. Share your own negative experiences encountered with an individual/group/society

from a different culture. How did you handle it?
As from Indian background, I often being bullied and laughed at school. The Malays
always called me “keling” or “india gelap” to teased me and hurt me. I was very afraid to
go to school that time because they will definitely do something to me. For example, they
will stick the bubblegum to my chair, they will pour water in my bag, and they also will
spit on my food every time I brought food from home. It was a horrible experience for
me. Even the teachers will never scold them and accused me for cheating. Then, I told
my father about what happened in the school, and my father went straight to the principal
office and make a complaint. At first, she denies it and said I was making up stories. But
my father warned the principal, if she didn’t take any action of those kids, my father will
have to do a police complaint on them.
After that, the principal took action by calling their parents to the school and had warned
them. The principal also made the kids asks sorry to me and promise that they will never
do that again.

3. Discuss the challenges faced in intercultural communication? Give examples.

Cultural differences will increase the risk in communication that leads to
misunderstandings. Misunderstandings will cause the communication process to not run
smoothly. For example, a Korean student is busy studying because of the tone of the
exam tomorrow. Coincidentally, while he was studying, his friend, a Malaysian Malay,
came. He told the Malaysian Malays that he was busy and closed the door. In Korean
culture, communication is more frank than in Malaysia. From a Malaysian point of view,
although busy but should welcome guests as well. The style of communication practiced
is not straightforward. This will cause the Malays of Malaysia to misunderstand the
Korean and consider him an unfriendly person. Ethnocentric is to view one's own culture
as central to something else that is evaluated based on one's own group's reference.
Ethnocentricity in oneself will cause us difficulties in the process of understanding the
communication of others because of different languages and values.
No cultural competence will increase the barriers to cross -cultural communication.
Examples are cultural knowledge of self and others, cultural sensitivity, cultural values,
within and outside the group, uncertainty, prejudice and stereotypes. Cultural knowledge
will determine the influence of culture on communication. We often assume our culture is
the same as anyone else’s. We will use our own culture as a standard to measure the
culture of others. When there is a disagreement in the communication process is due to
cultural differences. The "mindset" that a person has will bring the challenge of
confrontation to attitudes, expectations and communication styles.
Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people, objects or events broadly based
on a single culture. The information used to evaluate a person is limited because it only
refers to one’s own culture. For example, the Greeks were stereotyped as people who
liked to cheat or steal other people's property. Attribution is giving meaning to an act
whether it is one's own act or that of others. All communication involves a process of
attribution whether it is intentional or unintentional. For example, Lamal is firm in his
stance of wanting to meet with the manager. In the secretary’s view he is an aggressive
and rude person but in Lamal’s view this shows he is an assertive person.
Bias in communication consists of within the group and outside the group. In the group is
the importance of equality with others. Whereas, outside the group is concerned with
differences with others. Outside the group will increase the distance of cultural
differences with others and influence the way we process information. Outside the group
consider other communicators as strangers i.e. untrustworthy, not easy to be friends with,
many things about them are unknown and not clever. Manakla, in the group is the
opposite. Uncertainty and anxiety will affect the ability to process information as they
worry about the outcome of communication. They fail to pay attention to the means of
communication in the process of obtaining the desired result.
Examples of cultural differences. In dating Americans keep time and will avoid any
interruptions that will affect their schedule. Africans, on the other hand, are the type who
don't care about time and don't need to make an appointment if they want to meet
someone. They are willing and accustomed to distractions and unexpected things. Here
clearly shows the clash of time management styles between Americans and Africans.
Communication style differences are due to self -disclosure style differences. Examples
 are behavior, hobbies, work and study, money and personality. Examples of differences
in self -disclosure styles between individualistic and collectivistic. The information that
can be shared between the two communities is different. A collectivistic society can share
everything about it with others. Individualistic society separates personal matters from
work. Information about it that can be shared with others is limited. When individualistic
people meet people who practice collectivistic power there will be clashes if they are not
about each other’s cultures.

4. Suggest effective ways/strategies to improve intercultural communication skills

among people of multi-cultural backgrounds living in Malaysia.
We should always look for opportunities to interact with each other from different ethnic
groups. Other than that, celebrate and appreciate diversity by participating in festivals or
festivals of other races. We should be proud of ourselves and your family traditions and
share your family traditions so that your friends better understand. Respect and value
others regardless of skin color, physical ability or language used to speak. Promote
mutually respectful relationships among communities with different cultures, ethnicities,
races, sexes, religions and spirits.
Promoting tolerance, acceptance and affinity across differences through communication,
education and the arts.
Try to create opportunities to interact and make friends with people who are different
from you. Be an example or ‘role model’ to show the culture of your own race or other
races. Share with your friends so they get a better understanding. Prevent any prejudice
and discrimination around you to create a positive environment. Don’t let racist
sentiments and bad prejudices go unaddressed first. It is important to clarify that any title
or nickname that refers to any kind, whether it is about a person, religion, race, ethnic
background or sexual orientation, is hurtful and wrong. Try to avoid any message that
demeans and demeans someone.
Do not show a negative reaction if there is a difference for example eyes or skin color
because it is part of human variation. Encourage an environment in schools or
neighborhoods where individuals from a variety of backgrounds feel more comfortable
 being themselves. Provide space in areas or walls in classrooms or multipurpose halls to
display posters depicting cultures and traditions.

5. To what extent is intercultural communication important among Malaysians and

non-Malaysians working and living together in Malaysia?
Among the main benefits received by locals and outsiders (non -citizens) as a result of
social interactions that occur between them is that daily work becomes easier to manage
and have the opportunity to get to know the cultures and customs of different groups. If
before they avoided each other to deal with each other now, the informants are
accustomed to interacting with different groups. Their willingness to interact with each
other is to ensure that their daily affairs run smoothly. Some informants said that the
social interactions that took place between them and with different groups were not
limited to work matters only. In fact, social interaction also occurs in economic, social,
religious and community activities. They also have the opportunity to get to know and
learn about different group cultures. If in the past they knew less about the culture and
customs of different groups now, through the social interactions that take place, they can
already recognize, know and even learn about the cultures of different groups. Social
interactions make it easier for them to learn about the culture of the locals.

It is important for every outsider (non -citizen) to know the culture and customs of the
locals so that misunderstandings and conflicts between groups can be avoided.
Apparently, the social interaction that occurs between locals and outsiders (non -citizens)
is not only important to outsiders (non -citizens) but, the importance of social interaction
with different groups is also recognized by locals. Every community that has a high level
of social cohesion definitely has problems or challenges faced in their efforts to want to
maintain the peaceful, calm and harmonious state that they are enjoying. Among the
problems that have been identified to occur in the social relationship between locals and
outsiders (citizens) is the problem of prejudice and discrimination.

Information obtained from informants showed that although positive social interactions
were taking place between locals and outsiders (non -citizens) however, feelings of
prejudice against different groups persisted. At least with the existence of interaction
positive social between groups was found that feelings of prejudice against different
groups were getting thinner. Feelings of prejudice against different groups will not
disappear as long as the stance of each group considers that different groups as
competitors in obtaining opportunities.

limited living such as employment opportunities, home ownership, including claims of

equal rights are given to all parties.