Kampung Desa Murni, The Homestay Program
Malaysia is a country with a rich and proud ethnic heritage. Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dayaks, Eurasians and others create the social fabric of Malaysian society. Although each ethnic group has its unique cultural identity, all share an outgoing and warm hospitality for which Malaysia is well known.
Malaysians have a traditional love for meeting people, making new friends and welcoming guests into their homes. In turn, for many Malaysians as well as visitors to Malaysia, there is little that is more interesting than staying as guests in a traditional Malaysian home. When staying with a Malaysian family, guests live the life as the local people do, and are treated like part of the family. Most often, this includes staying in a wooden house, dining on local dishes prepared by the hosts, and eating with your hands.
In addition, visitors are often involved in local activities that range from cooking classes — a great way to take the local cuisine home — through to attending a traditional wedding, watching a local cultural dance, or participating in a Malay martial arts program. All of these are part of the developing Malaysian Homestay Program and key factors that distinguish it from the more simple bed and breakfast type of accommodation.
 Homestay houses are easily recognized by their open gates and welcoming atmosphere. |
The Malaysian Homestay Program began in 1988 at Desa Murni, a community of five rural villages which includes Desa Murni Sanggang, Desa Murni Sonsang, Desa Murni Kerdau, Desa Murni Ketam and Desa Murni Perangap. The villages are a 15 minute drive from the town of Temerloh, and about 120 kilometres or a 90 minute drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. This program is a means for Malaysians as well as foreign visitors to experience the rural and traditional Malaysian way of life, and for the local Desa Murni community to participate in and benefit directly from tourism.
Five Desa Murni families welcomed 10 visitors in the first year of the program, a number that has grown in little more than a decade to in excess of 100 host families welcoming more than 3,000 visitors per year. At this stage, most visitors are Japanese, but increasing numbers of Europeans, Australians and Americans are coming to Desa Murni.
In 1995, the Malaysian Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (MOCAT) and the State Economic Planning Unit (EPU), working in concert with community members and village elders from Desa Murni, gave the program a boost. The government provided certificates to host families, developed a brochure, and helped with promotion as well as replication of the program in other areas of Malaysia. Over time, this led to the development of the Malaysian Homestay Association.
Within the Desa Murni area, host families include farming families who live in the rural countryside as well as fishing families who live in riverine villages or kampung. The homes are not hotel-like; instead they reflect the simple and often pastoral atmosphere of the people. The focus for the guests is on experiencing and learning from an authentic and enriched culture.
The Homestay Program is designed to achieve several objectives. First and foremost, it is a tourism-based activity directly linked to the community. Local people organize and host the program, and they are the primary recipients of the benefits, financial and otherwise, that accrue from the tourism activity. In addition to the host families, many of the small businesses in the local communities also benefit directly from the influx of tourists. Visitors require services, and local merchants respond appropriately.
The program also acts as an important mechanism to learn, share and reinforce local values and customs. Activities that are performed for guests, could, in some cases, disappear from these communities which are increasingly influenced by the factors of modernization, urban sprawl and international development. In addition, the program increasingly responds to the growing interest among urban Malaysians to rediscover, taste, appreciate and maintain contact with their rural roots. It fosters integration while respecting and celebrating local culture. Finally, the program introduces host Malaysians, old and young, to the values and cultures of others, and enhances foreign language skills with a particular emphasis on English and Japanese.
 The main room in a traditional homestay house. |
The Desa Murni homestay program was conceived and developed by a local teacher, Mr. Sahariman Hamdan. He describes the most important element of establishing and sustaining an effective homestay program as, “how you treat your guests.” He says, “it is not so much the physical or natural features that are the secret, it is making people feel welcome.” His advice includes, “ensuring that the clients are the number one focus, treating them as part of the family, and modifying the program whenever and in whatever way the clients want.” Listening to Mr. Hamdan, it is clear that “customer service” is the mainstay of the Desa Murni program.
The Desa Murni program has developed a special relationship with Japan, and the majority of the homestay visitors are Japanese students. Mr. Hamdan, who continues to organize and develop the Desa Murni program, is primarily responsible for the promotion and administration, both before guests arrive and during their stay. In effect, he matches guests with host families, a critical element in the program’s success.
A key element of the approach taken in the Desa Murni program is involvement. Although the guests stay in individual homes, they often come together for special events that expose them to traditional Malay culture. For example, Malay weddings with selected guests playing the roles of bride and groom are staged, fishing trips with local high school students are organized, and batik prints and clothes are created. The people play and teach traditional games. They hold competitions to extract rubber from the local trees, and they demonstrate Silat, Malaysian martial arts. Also, they perform traditional dances, such as the lantern dance.
Mr. Hamadan says, “by showing off our culture to the guests, we reinforce for ourselves and our young people our rich and diverse cultural heritage. In fact, elements of our culture might die out, but instead are actually being reinforced through this program.”
Directly related to the growing number of homestay tourists, local craft production is on the increase. In Desa Murni, most crafts, including bamboo products, pottery, as well as wood and rubber items, are made by men. It is, however, women who for the most part run the business side of the craft industry. Currently, 10 - 15 seasonal craft businesses operate within the Desa Murni area, and almost all are operated by women. This represents an important and valued income stream both for the women who are directly involved as well as the broader community. Perhaps even more importantly, it models and promotes women as successful entrepreneurs.
Another group which benefits from the homestay program is the local aboriginal community, the Senoi people. By arrangement with host families, members of this community present their way of life to visitors through various presentations and cultural shows. As with other groups, this is an opportunity that helps the Senoi preserve their culture, particularly for the younger members of the community. As well, they benefit from an additional income stream.
Although the Desa Murni homestay program is generally self-contained within the area of the five villages, it does benefit from being situated within a short driving distance of Taman Negara, Malaysia’s premier national park and the largest in the country. Guests will sometimes take a day or overnight trip to the park while enjoying the homestay program. Others visit the park either before or after they experience the homestay program.
Taman Negara is well known for its 135 million year old rainforest, a spectacular home to an exceptionally rich diversity of flora and fauna. Within the park there are an estimated 14,000 species of plants, 250 species of birds, and 200 species of mammals. As many as 240 species of trees can be found within a single hectare at Taman Negara, while an average forest hosts something in the order of seven. Bronze artifacts suggest human habitation within Taman Negara has existed for about 2,000 years. One small group of Orang Asli (Original People), the Negrito Batek, continue to live within the border of the park, gathering food and hunting with blowpipes as they have for generations.
 Homestay host, Ms Siribasanan, plants memory trees with her Japanese guests. |
Ms. Sitihasanan is a typical host in the Desa Murni program. She says, “after my five children grew up and left, there was lots of room and time. Not only do I get the income, which is very helpful, but I also get my large family back!” She receives two to three guests each month. Most of these are Japanese, but Ms Sitihasanan has also played host to Germans, Russians, Canadians and Americans. “Most visitors send me letters afterwards and I learn how much the experience has meant to them, but for me they are like family and I love having them.”
Eighteen year old Sazimah, an electronics engineering student, is a tour guide and assistant administrator in the Desa Murni program. Her family hosts many visitors. She says, “I like to take them to the Sunday market and practice my English. I also like to learn their language and about their countries. Especially with the ones my age, we share ideas and discuss how we are the same and, at the same time, different. I get to know about other people and develop a broader understanding of the world.”
 A guest wearing traditional clothing. |
The Desa Murni Homestay Program is being replicated in many areas of Malaysia with literally hundred of homestay hosts in both peninsular and east Malaysia. This fact attests to the benefits enjoyed by both the guests and the hosts. As the Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism, Dato’ Sabbaruddin Chik, said, “I am confident that with the encouraging development of the tourism industry, the demand for this type of accommodation will continue to grow and provide opportunities to the local people to enjoy the benefits of the country’s tourism industry.”
More specifically, each year the Desa Murni program continues to expand. A fast-growing market for the program is school groups, particularly from Japan. For the Japanese, the Malaysian Homestay experience represents a unique opportunity for their young people to experience a very different yet traditional culture in a safe, warm and friendly environment. As word of the program spreads from school to school in Japan, the demand increases accordingly. In fact, the best promotion for the Desa Murni Program comes from the guests who have experienced it. At the same time, local Malaysian teenagers benefit directly from the contact they have with the Japanese visitors. Not only do these teenagers learn about a very different culture and people, but many also develop second language skills in Japanese and in English, a language the Japanese students are eager to practice.
Mr. Hamdan, the Program Coordinator for the Desa Murni, has been travelling to Japan one or two times each year to develop new contacts and to prepare groups for the homestay experience. For school groups from countries further abroad, this program is also an excellent learning experience. For older travellers, it represents a unique opportunity to learn about and experience rural Malaysia.
As well as traditional advertising through brochures and information sent to travel agents, the Desa Murni program is increasingly using the internet as a key resource for promoting the program. However, not only does Desa Murni have its own homepage (see http://wwwq2.meshnet.or.jp/~malaysia/hms.html), but in addition many of the Japanese students create homepages after they return home. In these home pages they recount their experiences in Malaysia, and often end up being the best advertisement for bringing new visitors to the program.
From a small start in Desa Murni, the Malaysian Homestay Program has grown dramatically in little more than ten years to the point where there are now homestay hosts in almost every part of the country. The benefits to the local communities, and women in particular, are dramatic. Malaysian culture is promoted, sustainable tourism is encouraged, and income flows directly to the grass roots host providers. Perhaps most interestingly, the experience enjoyed by Malaysia, and Desa Murni in particular, provides lessons and opportunities for every APEC community.
 A traditional wedding is re-enacted with guests playing the roles of bride and groom. |
Malaysian Homestay Association
79-1C, Jalan Raja Alang
Kg. Baru
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 50300
Next Chapter | Previous Chapter
Cover Page | Index Page | Edited by Michael Hatton
Copyright ©1999-2002 | Return to Top of Page