Someone Is Always Somewhere Else in Malaysia

One conversation I overheard at a coffee shop today was two eldery uncles catching each other up on their families.

“Your son?”

“Ah, already settled in Melbourne with girlfriend. And your daughter?”

“UK, just married”

Not everyone can afford to leave, obviously but Malaysia is a place where people make it a priority to be able to afford to leave. When someone speaks of a cousin abroad in Norway it takes on some sort of exotic tone. When I hear similar conversations in Malaysia it has a patina of sadness and hope. Hope they are doing well but also sadness with the knowing that it’s probably a one way kind of thing.