What are the main differences between Indonesians, Malaysians, and Filipinos?

Our differences were quite uncanny; maybe we looked pretty similar, but we were different. Indonesians and Malaysians could understand each other, but we were still distinct.

As an Indonesian, I can answer this based on my experience with my friends from that country, and I feel the differences between us. Here are the differences:

• Language: Indonesians speak Indonesia, Malaysians speak Malay, and Filipinos speak Tagalog. Indonesians and Malaysians can eerily understand each other, mostly from media such as Upin Ipin and other Malaysian cartoons or Indonesian music. But we don't understand the Filipinos.
• Religion: Indonesians and Malaysians were predominately Muslim, but the Filipinos were predominately catholic
• History: The reason our country was different was that a different European power colonized us in the past; the Dutch colonized us Indonesians, the British colonized the Malaysians, and the Spanish colonized Filipinos, then the United States.

But with all those differences, we still have much in common, like how we like our music and arts. The three of us love storytelling, folk art, and food, and well, don't get me started there, as we love eating rice and spices! And also coconut oil, our food was different, but we still have the same ingredients.

We were lovely, kind and friendly. We treat foreigners with utmost hospitality. It is within our blood to do, and we love to do it; that's why we were colonized back then: we were too kind to foreigners, haha.

I think that quite sums up the question about our differences and commonalities in a short answer: we love to mock each other in online games or online discussions, well we love to, not because we hate each other, but because that's what brothers do, they mock each other, but only them could mock each other, no other people could do that to their brother, only them. Our brotherhoods may look similar to how the Canadians treated the Americans or Australia; it's also the case with Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, three Southeast Asian brothers.

Sources: Philippines_Ball in X. Link: Philippines_ball (@PhilippinesBall) on X

---

Thank you for reading my short answer about three brothers from Southeast Asia; I hope you enjoyed my writing, and don't forget to upvote the answer, as it is significant to me. Thank you, and have a nice day!

CAREER DOUBTS

 

SO TO SAY

By Klaus Döring

Feeling confused about your career is very common. It usually happens when your internal values, skills, and goals do not match your current reality or the options in front of you.

 

You may experience doubts as soon as you start your studies simply because you do not know enough about the many career paths that are available to you ...

Realize that doubt is a normal part of the achievement process. Doubt happens to all of us. Sometimes, you'll set big career goals and then actively prevent yourself from achieving them. You may even get close to achieving these big goals, but then, right before you do, you'll blow everything up.

Start conducting exploratory interviews. Attend industry conferences, and network with key organizers, asking one or two for their time to learn more about their own personal career path. Find a mentor from whom you can get direction, who can assess your strengths and interests and help you brainstorm new career paths.

Career is a rapid motion. A course of action. Sure! A professional conduct in life. Even a progress through life. Here we are! That means, a careerist is one, who rushes widely and makes his own personal advancement as well as his (or her) own aim in life!

What can we do, if "career doubts" won't go away? First allow me to quote my bible, especially Jude (Watching out! Sounding an alarm!), who writes in the style of a teacher who is watching a freight train bear down on his student's driver. Yes, bells ring out: "Be merciful to those who doubt." (Jude :22).

My parents always wanted me to become a banker. So far so good. Why not? Maybe I would have been much happier in my job during those times. Maybe not? I wanted to be a journalist already at the age of 6... . Believe it or not.

The pressure "to be" (or later NOT TO BE - thank you Mr. Shakespeare!), started early in my life. Not only my parents, also my peers and teachers began to exert their influences on me. Yes, I even didn't know yet where my inclinations lay. I only knew, I wanted to become a journalist... .

Suddenly being a doctor or a lawyer? Yes, I was interested in law and medicine at that time. I really got very lucky becoming an editor of German law magazines during my last 18 years in Germany. But I never became a lawyer - or doctor! Now, I would ask myself - who cares?

Fear of failure: Perfectionism and a fear of failure reinforce feelings of self-doubt. In a state of self-doubt, you may attribute your past successes to luck, downplaying your true abilities. (A term for this experience is imposter syndrome, which is when successful people feel unworthy of their wins.).

"The way that people pick up careers is incredibly  primitive," said Nicholas Lore, founder of the Rockport Institute, a career coaching firm, and author of "The Pathfinder". Strong tobacco, indeed. That's why so many people are indeed dissatisfied with their jobs. I wanted to be a journalist, but mass communications wasn't MY subject yet. Publishing house management - yes! Banker again? Once upon a time... .

Believe me, I always thought about a true calling for myself. Sure, people, whose careers aren't the fight fit, often  feel like impostors, as Professor Robert I. Sutton, an organizational psychologist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, said. Very, very well said, Sir.

Career doubts can be transformed into powerful motivators for growth. Learn how uncertainty can become your advantage.

The initial step towards handling career doubts is acknowledging them. Recognizing uncertainty as a natural part of career development can reduce stress and open avenues for growth. Analyzing the roots of these doubts helps in understanding underlying concerns.

Turning doubts into strengths involves a deep dive into self-assessment and introspection.

Embracing doubts can enhance resilience. Overcoming skepticism sharpens problem-solving skills and fosters adaptability. Each challenge faced and conquered adds to professional growth and self-awareness.

Cultivating resilience creates professionals who thrive under pressure and persist in the face of adversity.

Clear goals provide direction and focus during uncertain times. They channel energy into constructive endeavors and help measure progress objectively. Establishing both short-term and long-term goals acts as a roadmap to navigate career paths.

Revisiting and adjusting goals as conditions change ensures they remain relevant and achievable.

Career doubts present opportunities for learning. They prompt the pursuit of knowledge and skills that are integral to overcoming challenges. Engaging in continuous education and professional development is key.

Viewing doubts as catalysts for growth fosters an environment where learning is prioritized.

Meanwhile, I reached the age of 73. I am looking back. I still like to teach the new generation... .

+++

Questions, comments or suggestions? Email me: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, Linkedin, X - (Twitter) or visit one of my websites www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogpot.com .

10 Places You Should Stay Quiet

1. Stay quiet if you don’t know the whole story.

2. Stay quiet if you can’t control your feelings.

3. Stay quiet when you’re really angry.

4. Stay quiet if your words might ruin a good friendship.

5. Stay quiet if you don’t know much about the topic.

6. Stay quiet when someone is sharing their personal problems.

7. Stay quiet if you can’t talk without shouting.

8. Stay quiet if it will help keep your friendships strong.

9. Stay quiet if talking is just to make yourself feel good.

10. Stay quiet if what you say could break someone’s trust.

PHILIPPINES RANKS NO. 1 AS THE MOST DESIRABLE ISLAND COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

The Philippines has secured the top spot as the World’s Most Desirable Island Country in the 25th Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards, presented by Wanderlust, the UK and Europe’s longest-running independent travel magazine.

The winners were revealed following an impressive 251,461 readers casting more than 8.2 million votes, reflecting the choices of Wanderlust’s dedicated and well-travelled readership.

Top 10 Most Desirable Island Countries:

1. Philippines

2. Barbados

3. The Bahamas

4. Ireland

5. Malta

6. The Maldives

7. Iceland

8. Fiji

9. Indonesia

10. Jamaica

This recognition celebrates the Philippines’ breathtaking islands, pristine beaches, crystal-clear waters, and extraordinary natural beauty, further strengthening its reputation as one of the world’s most desirable island destinations.

Source: Wanderlust – 25th Reader Travel Awards

#Philippines #Boracay #Palawan #Bohol #Siargao

S

May be an image of text

Shared post

Tampo

 

Why won’t many Filipinos (men & women) discuss or argue through an issue that’s important to their partners, but instead give them the silent treatment (tampa) which causes their partner to feel disrespected and hurt, and the problem unresolved?

Before I write anything else, let me clarify that my response below is based on my experiences and observations in my own relationships and in the relationships of people around me.

And by the way, it's “tampo” not “tampa.”

It’s not the same “silent treatment” as it is known and used in the Western World.

It's not even “sulking” as it is often translated.

It is a withdrawal of active engagement with another person or a group of persons. Filipinos are known to be hospitable and they actively go out of their way to make people feel comfortable and they belong. We are generally friendly in that way.

In close personal relationships, Filipinos give of themselves and often sacrificially. This is how we value people and our relationships with people. We desire close personal ties with people who are important to us because we love them or admire them. We want to be part of their lives as they are part of ours.

Filipinos are collectivist in the way they think and not nearly as individualistic as Westerners. While Westerners work toward self-fulfillment, Filipinos work toward smooth relationships with significant others. This is how they measure fulfillment.

They actively try to get to know people as they ever enlarge their social group of acquaintances and friends who may one day become part of their family as in laws or as fictive relatives (inaanak, kinakapatid, ninong or ninang).

For Filipinos, confrontational communication is not always the first, the best or the wisest way to tell people they are doing something wrong or hurtful.

For Filipinos, direct communication to tell someone they are wrong or they are causing hurt would jeopardize relationships they are trying to build and maintain.

And the hurt or the grief that causes the “tampo” response is still real. It must be expressed. It signals that some unspoken line or boundary has been breached. But the hurt or grief cannot be expressed in a direct way to break the relationship.

The goal of tampo is to express grief, hurt or displeasure but there is an implicit invitation for whoever has caused the hurt to examine their behavior, to reflect, to inquire and make amends to restore the relationship.

Filipinos are generally relational. They treat others as well as they expect to be treated. They expect others to actively mend relationships that may be neglected or overlooked and in danger of being broken.

In this way, “tampo” is a way most Filipinos gauge whether your esteem of them is as high as their esteem of you. This is a way of probing whether the relationship is reciprocal and equally as caring and thoughtful, if the desire to continue relating to each other is mutual.

Consider in a romantic relationship, there are two people who are exclusively sharing their time and resources. Respect, affection, and esteem must be mutual. Both people in the relationship must act and behave to ward each other with loyalty and affection. In dealing with others outside the relationship (their family or their friend group) they must signal that their ultimate loyalty belongs to their partner or spouse who is their priority.

A woman whose husband forgets her birthday, for instance, will not confront her husband about it. She will not immediately react in anger because she does not want to end the relationship. She does not want to damage it. She merely wants to express that some social or relational obligation has been neglected and must be given attention, remedied, and restored.

She also considers that his forgetting may not have been an act of neglect or a cooling of his affection. He may have had his wallet stolen or his boss at work may have disciplined him. His car or his tools-in-trade may have broken down and his meagre resources may have been used to fix those or replace them. This means the husband May have had to choose between “forgetting” (not giving a present on) his wife’s birthday may have been because the husband used his meagre resources to neutralize a threat to the family’s source of income. If that were the case, then the husband may have caused the wife grief or hurt but it was not intentional. And so, getting angry is not the best way to express her hurt when the husband had big problems to take care of and taking care of them would surely benefit the relationship.

If the husband values his wife in the same way and with the same intensity as the wife values her husband then the husband will immediately notice that something has shifted a bit in the way the wife related to him. He will begin to think what could have caused it. He retraces his steps, he figures it out, and he seeks to address his wife's sudden coolness toward him.

He does this by “panunuyo” or “susuyuin niya ulit” ang wife niya. He may come home with flowers or he may ask her out on a date, or he may hand her some money for a new dress, or just spend time doing with her whatever she wants to do. The woman may use part of the money given to her to buy something for her husband, too, to show that she appreciates the gesture.

The relationship is restored in its fervor. The wife is satisfied that her husband has noticed the slight shift. This means that he is actively regarding her (may pagtingin pa sa kaniya), and that she has enough “halaga” or value to him that he relates to her as actively as she related to him by acts of loving attention and service.

It's not quite so much the money value of whatever gift that is important as the thoughts and motivations behind the gift. It is the esteem which the husband holds for the wife that is important. It's the fact that he noticed her because he was looking at her the whole time but sometimes life gets in the way.

Faith in the reciprocity and mutual nature of the relationship is restored. Intimacy is renewed and may even heighten. Because the suyuan that follows the tampo is the opportunity for both to know each other better.

Filipinos will go out of their way to tend to relationships that are important to them. They expect the same tending from others who seek to have a long and satisfying relationship with them, as well.

I told my daughter about this post right after I uploaded it, and she made a point that had not occurred to me. The tampo is a way to minimize the noise of conflict in a relationship, a way of ensuring that others in the community will not notice too much for the couple to become the object of gossip.

In a small Filipino farming community where planting and harvesting chores are communal activities, the community is quick to notice conflict. A couple cannot tell their neighbors that it is none of their business. A possible breakdown of a relationship is the community's business because it will affect the community activities of harvesting and planting.

Of course, now, Filipinos live in cities and very few are farmers but there are still community activities—the fiesta, politics and elections are still community activities. The breakdown of marital and familial relationships impact how people move in their community.

Gucci ushers in a very Mariah Christmas

 

The Italian luxury fashion house celebrates the season with Mariah Carey in New York

By Manila Bulletin Newsroom

Mariah Carey (Photos: Gucci)

In celebration of the house’s holiday campaign, Gucci and Mariah Carey hosted an exclusive cocktail reception at the House’s New York Fifth Avenue flagship. Guests were welcomed into the boutique’s newly opened Gucci Apartmento, a private space on the third floor designed for a more exclusive experience. The space was transformed with elaborate festive décor evoking the joyful spirit of the campaign.

Throughout the evening, guests enjoyed passed canapés accompanied by limoncello mules, spiked apple cider, and white wine, while an a cappella choir delivered a special performance of Mariah’s iconic “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” alongside a selection of her greatest hits. Following the performance, Mariah delighted guests by personally presenting them with a holiday gift of chocolates adorned with the Gucci logo, adding a festive and intimate touch to the celebration.

Lily Chee and Izzi Allain (Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Gucci)

Gucci and Mariah Carey celebrate the new Gucci Gift Holiday Campaign with a festive cocktail in NYC at Gucci Fifth Avenue on November 02, 2026 in New York City. (Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Gucci)

Captured by Harmony Korine, the Gucci holiday campaign unfolds within a hotel transformed in anticipation of Mariah’s arrival. Elaborate decorations and festive preparations imbue the setting with an exuberant spirit that is distinctly Gucci.

Set to the iconic sounds of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” song, the film ushers in the holiday season with a sense of occasion and a touch of magic. Throughout, Mariah takes center stage in the new Butterfly special collection, inspired by the iridescent beauty of the butterfly, a signature motif of the singer.