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USA; dismal.

Everything is expensive, we’re all wage slaves

Malaysia

General idea:

Malaysia is a country in the south east asia adjacent to Singapore. It is a constitutional monarchy nation with the prime minister as the executive head and the king as the head of state (non executive). Racial distribution are Malay (predominant), Chinese, Indian and other native races like Iban and Kadazandusun.

Social Interaction:

Islam is the official religion of state, but frankly there is a degree of separation of religion and state. Do we have syariah law? yes. But do we cut people's hand for stealing or stone them for promiscuity? No. In most cases, Syariah law is mainly enforced in matter related to inheritance or marriage only and it is only limited to Muslims.

As a non-Muslim, can you openly drink alcoho in pubs, being gay, having multiple partners or bet at a casino? Yes, feel free to do so. As a Muslim? Yes, technically, but maybe dont say it loud.

Racial and religious sentiment are played at every elections, but frankly we are quite harmony and united.

Political Scenario:

Being a constitutional monarchy state, main bulk of administration is handled by the prime minister. because the prime minister is elected by the parliament, so there is a centralization of power at cabinet & parliamentary level. however, the judicial system, military and electoral system are separated. state & federal are also separated in terms of administration and to a degree, autonomy. civil laws present at state & federal level but islamic law are under the authority of the state.

Economy :

personally, I consider Malaysia as a low wage country. We have lots of professional workforce, but our wages are comparatively low. Dollar to dollar, the cost of living may seems "low" but purchasing power is weak. our monthly median income is MYR3647 (800 USD), a standard car cost of 14 months of income and a standard house cost 68.5 months of income.

Education:

we are well educated, kind of. primary and secondary school education is free for locals and books are free as well. Levi for foreign students are affordable. we have abundant private schools too. Literacy and English literacy is high, math & science knowledge ia good. we use IGCSE syllabus.

tertiary education is not free, but affordable. seats in government university are limited with quotas. lots of private university available. federal sponsored study loans are available (at very low interest) but scholarships are limited.

we have a considerable number of degree holder, but because of the job mismatch, a lot of people are migrating overseas due to the wage benefits.

Healthcare

government healthcare is not free, but very cheap. primary care visit is only 0.25USD and emergency visit to hospital is only 1USD. i pnce got my appendicitis out and I only pay 25USD. service wise, they are good, but facility wise, a bit poor. you can always buy your own insurance tho and get private healthcare treatment, which is not that expensice if compared to other countries.

Working life

our law recognised a 45 hours a week work system with offdays on saturday and sundays. Minimum wage is 330 USD a month. professionals to non professionals wage gap is small, unless you work with multinational corporations. if you are a digital nomad, you will enjoy the low cost of living. Many foreign digital nomads live in Sarawak or Kuala Lumpur