| Being an expat who’s British and single and living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a rewarding experience, according to Peter. Prepare to be amused at this Brit writer’s tongue-in-cheek account of some aspects of his expat life there. |
 Peter Darling |
February 17 2007
-Where were you born?
England
-In which country and city are you living now?
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
-Are you living alone or with your family?
Alone, reaping the rewards of being a singleton expat
-How long have you been living in Malaysia?
4 years
-What is your age?
30 years
-When did you come up with the idea of living in Malaysia?
I had a pal email me saying how great it was, so I jumped on the next plane.
-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
Don’t need one. Well you should, but I’ve never bothered. When you enter the country you get a 3-month visa as soon as they stamp your passport, after that you are meant to get one. But if you leave the country every 3 months and re-enter you don’t need to.
-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Never bothered, that stuff’s for wimps.
-How do you make your living in Malaysia? Do you have any type of income generated?
I’m a writer; it wasn’t hard for me to find work. Somebody with my natural charm and ability, I had offers left, right and centre.
-Do you speak Malaysian and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
Never bothered with that local stuff. Thankfully I was born British and as a Brit I don’t have to do anything like that. You see the sun will never set on the British Empire and as long as it doesn’t I can keep on speaking very loudly at foreign people until they understand what I’m on about.
-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
No, to put it plainly. Thankfully they haven’t caught up with me yet and if they do I’m out of here!
-Do you have other plans for the future?
Well there’s always the next Happy Hour.
-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home?
I’ve got a 2-bed apartment with ensuite, my block’s got a gym (that I’ve never used), a pool, laundry, and a roof garden.
-What is the cost of living in Malaysia?
Cheap, but it’s a bit pricey for the beers.
-What do you think about the Malaysians?
Nice enough, and the ladies are very nice.
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Malaysia?
Negatives: taxi drivers trying to rip you off, pollution, lack of culture (theatres, ballets, opera, etc.)
Positives: beautiful women, excellent weather, great place to be based if you want to travel the rest of Asia, lack of culture (theatres, ballets, opera, etc.)
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Malaysia?
Always wear your wellies (that’s a youthinism).
Your interview
What an arrogant immature little upstart you are. This is exactly the type of foreigner who gives locals (in any country he visits) a bad impression of expats. I have lived in Malaysia twice in the past 15 years, and found it to be a great place, save for embarrassing imports such as Peter Darling. Grow up buddy - there is a lot more to KL than beers and women who see mat salleh as walking ATMs!!! Learn about the history and culture of Malaysia instead of whinnig about what it doesn't have and drop your British arrogance. Oh, and regarding a work visa - you DO need one and are breaking the law by not applying for it. It is only a matter of time until they catch up with you sooner or later and it will probably be as you cross the border into Thailand or Singapore; Malaysians just do things in their own good time.
Brits are Brits
Can't change that, right?
I love this guy!
Come on, this guy is great! He's just having some fun. I love this guys columns in ExPat magazine. I will be the first to say a lot of Brits give me a pain, (sorry) I am an American. I guess alot of Americans give other people a pain also so what can you do?
Anyway, I think his humor is very funny, when I get back to KL I want to say Hello to him.
Pathetic!
This guy obviously doesn't know anything about being responsible. He breaks the immigration law and doesn't care enough about himself to get a medical insurance. What's this about KL not having culture? Opera and theatre may be culture to him but there are plenty of asian culture in KL. Perhaps any culture that's foreign to him just doesn't cut it to be considered culture. There are plenty of chinese, malay and indian operas and theatres in KL too. Peter is in KL and if he expects everything in KL to be a replica of England, then he shouldn't have bothered jumping on that plane 4 years ago.
He is either too arrogant or if benefit of the doubt is to be given to him, maybe he meant KL lacks western culture. In which case, what a display of eloquence from one who professes to write for a living.
A KL-lite abroad
Get A Life
Man! Give me a break. Why are all of these people so full of crap. The guys obviously joking. He's a humorist! Look it up if you don't know what that is. He's living here, he could go home if he wanted but doesn't, I assume that means something. He must like it at least as much or more than England. He doesn't worry me. It's the other ones that are so arrogant, stuffed up, or whatever they don't have a clue. That gives me second thoughts about the expats in Malaysia. They sound like the narrow minded ones to me, not him. They seem to be serious, he doesn't it. And how in the hell do you know he's not responsible. He's a young guy, he got his ass on a plane and moved to the other side of the world on his own. He's obviously surviving, probably thriving on his own . that's a hell of a lot more than I can say for most people. So just lighten up, you pretty much sound old, grouchy, stuck up, narrow minded and pompous.
Expat looking for advice
graphic designer looking for a job in malasia, are their any decent ways to make money in malaysia doing graphic design
V. Funny
The post cracked me up - almost as funny as people's 'serious' response to it
coming to work there
Hi there my Friend!
Im a Brit,living in Denmark,and I am looking for work as a plumber in malaysia,do you no any company that I can get into
contact with,I got a girlfriend there,and we are going to get married in the new year some time,can you help me please
get some contacts there,
thank you,
What a Wanker!!
I worked with this guy, he was a coldcaller for a financial services company in KL (called EFS at the time, now Montpelier). The reason why he didn't have a work permit was because he was of little value to the company and they wouldn't be able to justify it to the immigration department. He wrote some pathetic column for an expat rag on the side, for free beer probably! He never bother with medical insurance because he was too tight! He fell foul when he had a serious liver problem (from drinking too much!) and had to run home to the NHS! I heard he's now on the dole in Birmingham! The biggest free loading wanker I ever met!! Malaysia is better off without the likes of Peter Milner!
FAO sirrx
Stay in Denmark mate, you won't find any work here as a plumer, unless you speak Chinese and want to work 7 days a week for 400 quid a month!
work in KL
Recently come to live in Kl with my malaysian wife.years of exp in the uk as a carpenter/multi trader and A level standard of english.Any tips on how to generate some income would be appreciated.Thanks.
moving to Kota Kinabslu
i am considering a move to live in Kota Kinabalu in late 09. i am a british ctizen, 49 years old and my wife is a Malaysian citizen and has her own property in Kota Kinabalu. She will be able to find employment and i wondered if there would be opportunities to find suitable employment for someone with a background of working in Education as a Youth Worker/social worker for the past 20 years.
Are there any things which i need to consider before making the move...??
"expats" is an anagram of
"expats" is an anagram of "Sex tap"
Pete
What an absolute legend! This bloke is living the life that any Lex Luthor look a like deserves! Im planning on doing exactly what he is bum around 3 months at a time, with random women each night!
I was lucky enough to meet this great man, who has now settled in KL with his thai lady boy wife and 3 kids he no longer needs to skip country every 3 months.
looking forward to meeting up again Pete
law
He's not breaking the law, I live in costa rica like that, just leave the country every 3 months for 3 days and it's legal, but I was thinking about comming to Asia, and I would like to know how long you have to stay out of Ma. before re-entering.