A Japanese woman, visiting as a tourist for the first time in Malaysia, highlighted in a social media posting that this is a ‘very cold country’ and she was not referring to Malaysians whom she generally found to be warm and hospitable.
The woman from Japan was referring to the ubiquitous use of air conditioning almost everywhere in the country that she had to wear a cardigan to be able to withstand the cold although Malaysia has a hot, sunny and rainy tropical climate.
The woman found that public transport like buses, taxis and trains were freezing cold for her as the drivers of these public transport tend to blast or turn on the air conditioning to the maximum to keep themselves and passengers cool.
Moreover, she found public facilities like shopping complexes and malls also doing the same thing of keeping temperatures very low that she found it was common for many people to wear jackets to keep comfortable and bear the cold.
She did not understand the fixation of Malaysians with air conditioning and to top it all she noticed it was now trendy for Malaysians to carry portable fans or blowers and use them when they move around in public spaces.
While she understood that hot weather can be unbearable, she remarked that in view of global warming Malaysians should look for alternative ways to keep cool and comfortable whether outdoors or indoors and not contribute to climate change.
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
