I need my hot shower, even in the summer.
Just turn the a.c. on first.
I don’t mind cold showers. I like them when it’s real hot or after a workout.
If I’m renting a run down place for cheap, whatever. I’m not. That’s my main problem. I went a little bit over my original budget to get someplace nice to avoid issues such as this. I don’t have all day waiting for this. Currently I’m waiting for them to fix my door, which apparently doesn’t lock. I didn’t even know, the landlord put in the form and never told me. No heads up on them coming.
Another great day.
My landlord and agent tried to do that to us in Taiwan.
Luckily the wife spotted it. Then he said, 'sure you don’t need the main door lock, the outside grill lock (which you can put your hand through ) is still functioning '.
I Blame the shitty agent more though. He fixed the lock in the end. Nobody is going to move into an apartment without a bloody lock on the door!
We also had a leaking toilet , he claimed he didn’t know but in the end he fixed that… He also had to change the oven hob and the extractor which he complained a lot about . The water heater was also out of spec and All of those things were falling apart. But instead of him paying we just deduct the costs from our rental payment and we found all the tradesmen , it’s very Easy for these landlords.
Of course landlords in Taiwan don’t pay any tax which is the biggest tax fraud of all. We still have to sign a ‘contract’ with them saying we won’t submit for tax rebate, crazy.
The only good thing…The rent hasn’t increased in four years and he never bothers us.
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I honestly don’t understand this landlord. He is so stupid. I don’t know if he realizes this apartment is like 2-3x more that the average monthly salary of most locals. He’s probably not going to find another tenant if we leave. There are so many luxury service apartments that just propped up and are more being finished and built. Most of them empty.
This guy got a Malaysian queen size bed for the master bed room. Made from coconut that’s hard as the floor. Because older Chinese people love this saying it’s good for their back. It’s a huge master bed room. The logic is crazy, people who can afford this kind of place probably want at least a king in the master bed. Anyways I had to make a custom bed, because in Malaysia the king size bed length are 187cm. I’m 190cm. But this is also true in Taiwan.
This is offensive probably but I don’t really care. Think twice about moving to Malaysia, if you think Taiwan has issues you won’t like living here. There are certainly many ignorant, uneducated people in Taiwan. But in Malaysia we get people that are just ok with mediocre at a level I’ve never seen. Like this guy who is scolding me about complaining about no hot water.
They could have the water heater on a timer to save money.
Wait…it’s 41 degrees in the afternoon?!?
It’s not even true. It’s hotter in Taiwan in the summer. It’s just that it’s summer here all year.
I honestly dislike the people here. They are manners and culture of things I do not enjoy. We invited one person who helped us for dinner. She says she might be 1 colleague. Day of, tell us she’s bringing for. Not asking. Telling. Ate our food clean and left right after the meal is finished.
People seem to be perfectly ok with the fact there’s no hot water. Apparently I’m complaining too much for them.
It’s apparently ok to require a person be single here for a job.
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Too much for us too. 
Difference is I’m not paying you to fix my problems. You’re allowed to be annoyed. If I’m paying you, you don’t get to complain about my complaining.
This is ridiculous. All of my landlords have been pretty cool until now.
There are elevators like this in the Netherlands. The difference is that they have more numbers and you can go to whichever floor you want in the building lmao. It’s weird.
Someone should invite this Jagdave Singh to Forumosa. 
This employer is thirsty af.
Tall dark handsome also single?!
What kind of job is this?!
Basic?!
minimum wage?
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In the Philippines I’ve seen job postings requiring people within a certain height and weight range for office jobs, like not too short, not too fat etc. X_x
Funny thing is that your post sounds almost EXACTLY like my experience moving to Taiwan!
It isn’t Taiwan or Malaysia. It is the Chinese mentality. It is the same in Malaysia as in Taiwan. The Chinese run everything in Malaysia. Even though there is a Malaysian at the counter the system was set up by the Chinese. Banks - all Chinese. Buildings - all Chinese. Same. Same.
Having immigrated to Malaysia on 2006, I can give you some hints.
First, you are in the third world part of Malaysia. JB is an inbred backwards area. There are only two places that are OK - Kuala Lumpur and Penang. It is like going to Dalan and expecting it to be like Taipei. JB is a dump with a bunch of high rises built by and for mainland Chinese. Don’t let the new buildings fool you.
Second, you should NEVER move into a new building (anywhere). It is the same in Taiwan. I am in a 5 year old luxury building and shit still doesn’t work - and they can’t fix it. New building = new toxic paint, glue, etc. Every building will be the same - here, there, anywhere.
Food. You probably caught the Norovirus that is going around. I got it after a week in Taiwan. Takes 2 weeks to get rid of. Trust me, the food in Taiwan is no cleaner than Malaysia. Both have low standards and are hit and miss.
Hot water? Well, most buildings don’t have hot water except for the shower. When I built my place I had to add it to the kitchen & washing machine. Funny, I am in a very expensive building fancy ass in Taiwan building and the shower starts hot and then is cold and just when finishing up gets hot again.
Banks. Fuck, look at my earlier post. Banks SUCK in Malaysia. They SUCK in Taiwan. They have EXACTLY the same moronic mentality. Exactly. On top if the banks sucking, there are new US anti-money laundering rules the banks have to follow. The problem with both Malaysian AND Taiwan banks are that no employee is allowed to think. No one, even the guy in charge, has a fucking clue about the US laws. They just made up a bunch of procedures and told the poor clerks to follow them. Further, if you have a Taiwanese passport you will have a much harder time. Never a week goes by with a Taiwanese being caught doing some money / banking / credit card scam.
Visa? Taiwan is so unorganized and ass backwards I almost left. Being A priority foreigner, I have people in the government to help get things done. Even though I asked multiple times if I needed any other paperwork I was told absolutely not. We (here with my family) go through the visa process with the required documents (marriage certificate and birth certificates). We are issued visas (kept our passports for two weeks. Any idea how hard it is to stay in Taiwan without a passport?). The off to get an ARC. Oh, we can’t accept these documents. You have to go to the USA and have MOFA certify them. They expected us to live in Malaysia for months - without an ARC, bank account, apartment, car, etc. - while MOFA put a meaningless stamp in an already official, stamped and sealed document.
Medical Exam. Someone misled you on this one. I went to a local Malaysian doc and he took my blood pressure, listened to my lungs and asked a few questions. Then stamped my paperwork and handed it to me. You may have to have blood work done to keep out infectious diseases as you are from Taiwan.
You mention foreigners being excluded. Banks are all Chinese and that is the mentality - same here. You are not worth the hassle. Just like here, you have to know someone who is established to introduce you to open an account at many banks. And it is worse if you are American. MayBank will once you get your visa. Hong Leong will as well a OCBC.
You can get a prepaid cell phone with your passport. And you can get postpaid service with your passport and a deposit (hey, just like Taiwan!). And you can get postpaid service WITHOUT a fucking 2 year contract!
Not sure why you are having problems with Malaysians and English. Except in KL and Penang, English is about as common as Taiwan - so don’t expect more. I find that in Taiwan I can get by with English for the most part. In KL and Penang, English rules but younger Chinese can’t make a sentence to save their lives. English ability in Malaysia is dropping fast. But Manadrain is on the rise.
“My mainland Chinese landlord” → that is your fault. There are millions of empty units in JB - millions. And you picked a non-Malaysian landlord. And one from a country still developing. OK, the new building thing you wouldn’t know about. But… Oh, no one in Taiwan cleans a place before moving in. My fancy as apartment owner couldn’t be bothered with the dead roach in the corner.
“don’t pay attentions to details her” Gosh, that was my first observation here. I thought I was back in Malaysia. But honestly, KL and Penang are much better. Just like Taipei versus most of Taiwan.
“Discrimination against non Malays” Yes, it exists. It is the law actually. In Taiwan it is discrimination against anyone not Chinese. Actually, it is not Malays. There are white people who can attend. It is about your family history in Malaysia.
“Food sucks here. No decent western food” You are in JB. Penang has great food - as does Taipei - but Penang is a fraction of the price. KL does, too.
Tourist tax. - Just on hotels. Pisses me off, too. And when visiting some tourist sites you have to pay more. Pisses me off even more.
I think you are confused on the sales tax thing. Prices are always quoted with the tax.
“My building management sucks.” Yep, new building. I am sure they are clowns at best. New buildings are still under the builder’s management (aka a job for the dumb brother in law). A tip is to find out about management and building rules before renting. Some buildings in Malaysia are great and some really suck. So far my building in Taiwan is fine. But it is a super high end building. And I asked about everything before signing a lease.
“Migraine, burning eyes and nose” That is new building sickness. It will not go away - even if you air it out. It is better to take your losses and move.
"This is one of the nicest buildings up in the entire JB. There’s only like 5 people living in because it’s so expensive.:–> It is because it is a new building. No one will live in it for years. My building in Taiwan is similar. After 5 years 1/3 of units are completely vacant. The owner couldn’t be bothered to rent it out. Another 1/3 are occupied but no one living in it. No idea where they are - overseas maybe. Lots of nice cars with thick dust as they have sat at year or more.
Oh, good luck with internet. Fiber might not be hooked up to the building yet. You can use unlimited wireless to get by. My place in Penang has great internet. And luckily my building in Taiwan does too. But I checked it beforehand (but not with a salesman. I asked a resident) as I can’t work without a good Internet connection.
Again, your post is pretty much my recent experience in Taiwan. I also had some hell in Malaysia. I left Malaysia for some years and before I moved back I tried to renew my residency. I have an office with very qualified staff who process 30 or so a year. They sent in the paperwork and all was approved. That office told immigration to renew my residency permit. They tried but they had recently changed their software and the screen was “grayed out” so he couldn’t click to renew it. The officer tried everything. So I had to reapply for residency. That takes many months and lots of paperwork.
Which is similar to my experience in Taiwan where one government agency approved everything and sent me to immigration to get an ARC and immigration had completely different requirements.
Actually, outside of Singapore and Hong Kong, the rest of Asia is about the same - hence the lower GNP per capita.
Good luck in Malaysia. But if you can move out of JB (and definately that building).
KL is great and Penang is slightly less sophisticated but more laid back.
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