A grateful expatriate from the Philippines recently took to social media to express her appreciation for living in Malaysia, despite facing personal challenges.
In a Threads post, @lakwengchera shared that relocating to Malaysia was a decision she does not regret. She highlighted the affordable cost of living in Kuala Lumpur and praised the city’s well-developed infrastructure.
“Kuala Lumpur’s cost of living is generally cheap, people pay low taxes while enjoying well-developed infrastructure, and whatnot,” she wrote.
She also compared Malaysia to her home country, where she lamented the effects of rising inflation.
“In the Philippines, the inflation rate is crazy. Filipinos pay high taxes but do not feel the services returned,” she shared.
Her post quickly gained attention, sparking both praise and debate among netizens.
Some users pointed out that her perspective may be shaped by her status as an expatriate, earning a higher salary than many locals.
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“You cannot stay long term unless you invest in the MM2H scheme. Also, you will never get permanent employment as per Malaysian labor laws designed to protect locals. That being said—you’re being paid expat salary, that’s why you think it’s cheaper,” commented @shrmla.
Another user, @rajvinder_singh_00, said, “Kuala Lumpur literally has one of the highest costs of living among all the states. It’s easy to say it’s cheap when you’re an expat, but many locals can’t even afford to eat twice a day.”
In response, @lakwengchera clarified her statement, acknowledging that her choice of words may have caused misunderstanding.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said ‘KL is cheap.’ I just wanted to point out that the cost of living in KL is more affordable and reasonable compared to my home country,” she explained.
While some were critical, others appreciated her post, saying it gave them a new perspective on life in Malaysia.
“Oh wow, really? I thought we Malaysians were paying high taxes, but apparently, expats think otherwise. I’ve never lived outside of Malaysia, so maybe I should be more grateful towards our government and country,” commented @_mini.online.shopz.
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