TNAG-1869-FCO40-2657-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Macau-1989 — Page 136

306 Macau

Almeida Ribeiro has also been recom- mended.

The Solamar Restaurant in the Rua da Praia Grande has high prices and slow service. Fat Siu Lau is Portuguese despite the Chinese name. You'll find it on the old red-light street Rua da Felicidade. It's supposed to be the oldest restaurant in Macau, and roast pigeon is a speciality. There are some good and cheap little Chinese places down the same street.

Other places include Henri's Galley (good for a burger) on the Avenida do Republica. At 135 Rua Cinco de Outubro, near the Hotel Cantao, the Cafe Ieng Keng Tsing does good breakfast specials and reasonably priced meals. There are plenty of Chinese places around and it's often

easier to get what you want than in Hong Kong. The Mfi Nga Cafe near the Estrela do Mar in Rua Central has excellent food at low prices and is run by three old Chinese ladies. Good dim sum at the Jad in Avenida Almeida Ribeiro. The food in the coffee shop of the Casino Lisboa is surprisingly reasonably priced.

For economy minded winelovers Macau is the best bargain in this book. Wine in stores in Macau starts at M$15 for a bottle of the cheaper Portuguese wines. In restaurants half bottles are generally M$16-20, full bottles M$30-45. The Estrela do Mar is cheaper. You can brings litre of wine or spirits back to Hong Kong. It's all cheaper in Macau.

Malaysia

A country of beautiful scenery, easy and comfortable travel, and friendly people rather than of deep historical or cultural interest. One of the most advanced and well-off countries in Asia, Malaysia offers wide variety of beaches, mountains and parks for lovers of the outdoors. It also has

■ fascinating mixture of peoples, from the peninsular Malays and the commercially minded Chinese, to the diverse tribes of Sabah and Sarawak in North Borneo.

HISTORY

Malaysia's history has almost always been an offshoot of other countries. A thousand years ago Buddhist and Hindu empires from Thailand and Indonesia spread their influence over the peninsula. The arrival of Muslim traders turned Melaka (Malacca) into the centre of an Islamic empire, but its conquest by the Portuguese in 1511 once again took the power from Malayan hands. In 1641 the Dutch took over Melaka and in 1795 it went through changes again when the British took control.

Kota Bahru brought them out of hiding to hamper construction. Singapore withdrew from the Malaysian confederation in 1966 and the elections of 1969 ended with violent intercommunal rioting and the suspension of parliamentary rule. Tension between Malays and Chinese is still a problem, but in general Malaysia is peaceful racially. The 1974 elections resulted in a overwhelming majority for the National Front, which managed to absorb half of its rivals and steam roller the rest. Rocketing rubber and tin prices have kept the Malaysian economy happy of late and the wayward state of Sabah has finally been brought under more effective Kuala Lumpur control.

The old Malay-Chinese rivalries have risen again in the past few years. The Chinese have been feeling that the pro- Malay tilt has gone a little too far and have effectively been withdrawing their expertise (and money) from the economy. For a time the arrival of Vietnamese boat people along the Malaysian east coast (where the population is more heavily Malay than on the west) exacerbated racial relations but that seems to have quietened down. Malaysia has followed, though fortunately at a fairly great distance, the worldwide swing to more fundamental and conserv- ative Islamic rule.

FACTS

For years the British were only inter- ested in Malaya for its seaports and as protection for their trade routes, but the discovery of tin prompted them to move inland and take over the whole peninsula. Meanwhile Charles Brooke, the 'White Rajah', and the North Borneo Company performed similar British takeovers in Sarawak and Sabah respectively. The British, as was their custom, also brought in Chinese and Indians, an action which radically changed the country's racial mix. After independence from Britain 'Merdeka' - in 1957, Malaysia had serious problems with Communist guerrilla activ- ities and the 'confrontation' with Indonesia. Geography Malaysia covers an area of Sukarno's demise ended 'confrontation' 330,000 square km, approximately 40% but sporadic outbursts of guerrilla activity of which is the Malay peninsula, reaching still occasionally take place. The building down from the Thai border to Singapore. of the east-west road linking Penang with The other 60% is the northern Borneo

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Population A confederation of 13 states, mostly with their own Sultans, Malaysia has a population of nearly 14 million split between Malays (who control the govern- ment) and Chinese (with their fingers on the economic pulse), with a substantial minority of Indians.