Pic Credit: Pixabay
1. What is your name?
Zaid Areff
2. What country were you born in?
South Africa
3. What job did you have in your home country?
I worked in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) environment.
4. How long have you been living in your new country for?
Just under two years.
5. Did you immigrate alone or with your family and kids?
I moved with my wife and our two kids.
6. If you had immigrated with your kids, what were their ages when you immigrated and how did they adjust to the new environment?
Haalah was 5 and Muhammad was 10 months old.
7. How are the schools in the new country?
Most expats send their children to International schools and these offer quality education and facilities, however at a significant cost. The local, public schools tend to be either rooted in the Malay or Chinese languages. As we had moved during the Covid lockdown, Haalah had already been home schooled through Qurtuba Online Academy (based in South Africa) and she has enjoyed it and thrived. She has been happy to continue with QOA and we have been happy with their offering as well. This is supplemented by private swimming and language classes as well, and now that the country is fully open again in the endemic phase, we intend to start her and Muhammad with more extracurricular activities where they’ll interact with a diverse group of children from the across the city.
8. What is your job in your new country?
I work at the same company I was at in South Africa, which is Mondelez, an international snacking company that counts Cadbury and Oreo among its most well known brands. I am currently working within the Marketing function, covering Malaysia and Singapore.
9. What do you enjoy about your new country?
It really is an easy place to live for us in so many ways. Being a Muslim majority country, there are always masaajid or salaah facilities available, Halal food is predominant and even modest fashion is the norm wherever you go. Basic services are consistent and relatively cheap. Water, electricity, fuel and public transport can all be relied on and function well. Having moved from South Africa, the safety aspect cannot be overlooked either. We walk around at nights, restaurants and outdoor food courts are open until the early hours of the morning and it is not unusual to see females out across the city at night, either socialising or cycling, running, etc. We feel at ease with our children as well in shopping centres, crowded spaces and in parks as there is very little threat to their safety from what we’ve gathered.
10. What do you miss the most about your home country?
Family and friends, and maybe a toasted special sandwich occasionally! Not much else though.
11. What advice would you give someone that is contemplating to immigrate to the country you have immigrated to?
Get in touch with anyone that has made the move, the experience provides a lot of context and makes the transition so much smoother. We are fortunate to have a decent sized group of South Africans and South African Muslims that have settled in Malaysia and everyone in this group provides support for each other in any way possible. We meet regularly but also keep a WhatsApp group chat that is used to share information as it is required.
12. What challenges, if any, would you advise them to anticipate based on your experiences when you first moved to your new country?
The time difference (+6 hours) to South Africa can be challenging and may test relationships with those back home. While Halal food is abundant, the local taste profile may be different in some places to what we’re used to, but there are so many options from around the world that you’ll never go hungry!
13. What advice would you give them to overcome those challenges based on how you overcame them?
Set up time to have video calls and catch ups with those that matter most back at home.
14. How was the visa process for immigrating to your new country?
Relatively simple for us as it was mostly done by the company I moved across with. It does make it a lot easier if you move across with a job already secured.
15. How is the cost of living in the new country compared to your home country?
Quite comparable when it comes to basics such as food and clothing. There are some items such as fuel that are a lot cheaper in Malaysia than in South Africa.
16. Is there anything else you would like to add, or any advice you would like to give to anyone that is contemplating moving to your new country?
Just do it! It really is such an easy life overall, Alhamdulillah. It has been a life changing experience for each of us and once you’ve experienced living in a majority Muslim country that has deep rooted culture, advancements in technology and a diverse population, you’ll probably never want to leave.