I’m a Malaysian who went to Tokyo Japan last Nov with some friends and we were walking around Kabukicho when one of those guys who stand in the street came up to us and started asking if we were interested in sex services. He was a western foreigner and spoke perfect english to us.
We knew this kind of thing was normal so we turned him down but one thing that struck us was when out of the blue he just said “You guys are Malaysian right?”
So for those that don’t know, Malaysia is a small southeast asian country located between Thailand and Singapore and I know for a fact a lot of foreigners do not know about or have even heard of Malaysia, also Malaysia is a multiracial country so locals look no different from people in Singapore, Thailand, or Indonesia.
But the guy somehow guess correctly that we were Malaysian which was a shock to us. Should I be concerned if this guy has info on me and my friends or am I being paranoid?
Edit: Yeah I kinda forgot about this incident for a whole year because of the pandemic and stuff, just remembered about it recently because one of my friends brought it up
23 comments
No need to be ‘kang chong’. Those familiar with our accents (I’m Singaporean) can guess where we are from.
Were you speaking your native tongue or at any point referencing Malaysia? There’s many ways people can pick up on where you’re from. Also think about specific items that might be related to your country, badges of the flag of your country, that kind of thing. I doubt it’s nefarious, but the possibility of you and your group being followed and listened in on is a reality, especially if they’re trying to get money out of you for … specific services. But the more of you there are, the more likely there was a clue of where you’re from on one of you.
Hi!
I don’t think you should be concerned. I’m a Southeast Asian as well and whenever I traveled to other countries, I have had random sales ladies and police officers point out my nationality – even if my facial features lean more Oriental and Korean.
A lot of it also has to do with your accent, I believe, and the manner of speaking. 🙂
Those folks are out there enough that they might be able to tell based on accent and how you dress/look.
They don’t know anything about you personally. It is just a tactic they have.
So many people go through Kubukicho they probably can just read people very well. A master of picking out their “mark”.
He probably knew from your accent. Plenty of foreigners do know about Malaysia.
> am I being paranoid?
Probably. Someone guessed where you are from on probably overhearing your accent + a lucky guess.
Also, Malaysia isn’t some undiscovered tribe, I’ve met loads of Japanese people who’ve been there.
The Malaysian/Singaporean accent is quite easy to recognise, I wouldn’t worry
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It’s a thing in tourist spots in general. These guys are used to seeing people from different countries . Malaysians are very easy to spot due to mannerisms/how we dress/accents etc.
I remember going to Turkey and a peddler came up to us going “Murah, murah” even though we weren’t speaking in malay.
If he had guessed wrong, you wouldn’t remember this incident. Touts make guesses all the time; sometimes they’re right.
Don’t be disturbed. I can safely see the distinction between the Asian people. Malaysians are usually very easy for me to spot. Just like how I can easily spot russian from Germans. Accent also are a dead giveaway. They probably easily picked that up.
I mean the Malaysian/Singaporean accent is a dead giveaway. I can identify a fellow Malaysian/Singaporean from a mile away. It’s not just the accent but the slang that we use etc.
„ a lot of Foreigners do not know or have heard about Malaysia“ I swear if this isn’t a shit post you’re officially as dumb and naive as people who’ve never heard of Malaysia.
„ should I be concerned?“ yes !! Be concerned! he’ll probably come and kill you in your sleep. Please go to the police.
Most westerners are really familiar with Malaysia. Don’t be worried. It’s just by chance.
A lot of foreigners know about Malaysia..
If you forgot about it for a whole year should you be worried now? Idk man you tell me.
I’ve got some people online guess where I live purely based on my accent. There are also some telltale signs of where you live such as how you dress, facial features and even your body language (especially when you’re with your friends from the same country). I myself could was able to recognize some people from my country purely by the way they held their phones when I went to Japan.
I wouldn’t be so worried.
It’s pretty easy to recognize Malaysians if you’re familiar with them.
This is just a guy who’s seen it all, nothing personal to worry about.
You are definitely being paranoid. Don’t think you should be concerned at all. Some people are just good at guessing where other people are from. Maybe he’s been to Malaysia before and a lot of people are well aware of its existence and is often a popular holiday destination. Also, there are a lot more Malaysian tourists coming into Japan than ever before.
Definitely no need to be concerned.
I was walking through Kabukicho and a tout asked if I was from Sydney and I am. I’m assuming he heard my accent and took a guess, probably the same thing that happened to you.
Also, who on earth doesn’t know about Malaysia?
psychics lah!
I was in Japan and my Japanese friend asked me if I can make the difference between Japanese, Korean and Chinese. I said maybe sometimes I can tell based on facial features, but I could only really tell if they speak. On the other hand, my friend was pointing out all the Chinese and Korean. I asked how to make the difference. And the answer was actually considering more things like fashion, make-up and such. I am sure there is more, like attitude, way to move, accent, etc. that can give hints of where you are from. You might have the impression you are all not that different in the region where you live, but you might be more different than you think.
So if that person is always talking with foreigners from many countries and asking where they are from, he might get good at reading the different hints. Or maybe they just know a bunch of people from Malaysia and you reminded him of the Malaysian people he know. Or it can be pure luck that he guessed that out of some options he was thinking of.