Jewish Malaysia

ARTS&LIFESTYLE28 Australian Jewish News – ajn.com.auFriday, July 17, 2009arts&lifestyleTheGary Braut (right) with his staff. Braut is a Jewish resident of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who runs an auto parts remanufacturing business.Jewish MalaysiaIt may appear to be an unusual place for Jews to live, but Andrew Harris finds Malaysia is host to a fascinating, if miniscule, Jewish population.Photos: Andrew HarrisA rooftop mural depicting RabbiAvraham Shemtov (right) andUS President George BushSenior emblazoned on the sideof Braut’s factory.WHAT colour kippah are youwearing?” says KualaLumpur’s (KL) 62-year-oldGary Braut. “I’ll send someonedown to the lobby to get you.” Needlessto say, it was a superfluous question –even if I were wearing one, I’d be easy tospot. In a country of 27 million, only one,Braut, wears a kippah.Soon I’m sitting with Braut in a waitingroom of the palatial Prince CourtMedical Centre private hospital. Brautdoesn’t feel well. He’s telling me, quiteloudly, that his mum doesn’t want himto wear a kippah and tzitzit in public.Such overt Jewish talk is unusual in KL,and I’m feeling a little nervous.I see a curly-haired Caucasian womanto my left, the only other non-Asian inthe room, eavesdropping. On a whim Iask her, “Are you Jewish too?” Yes, as amatter of fact, she is, and works at thenearby US embassy. I explain I am acurious Jewish writer from Melbourneand that Braut has offered me an insightinto life as Jew in KL. She hands me hercard. “I’d be interested to hear what hetells you,” she says, and goes off to herdoctor’s appointment.Family, Religion, CompanyBRAUT’S business, PrecisionAutomotive Industries (motto:Family, Religion, Company), which remanufacturesstarters, alternators, A/Ccompressors and ball bearings for theauto industry, employs about 180 peoplespanning the full gamut of the Malaysianpopulace. In the delivery bay of his factoryare a Chinese shrine, a gilt reminderof Muslim prayer times; and a hugephoto titled “Sultan of World JewryRabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson,The Lubavitcher Rebbe”, waving benevolentlyfrom behind a man-sized oilburningmenorah made of car parts. As Iarrive, one of Braut’s employees setsabout lighting the wicks.It’s hot, humid and easy to dehydratein KL, and I have the odd feeling that I’mhallucinating. Opposite the delivery bayis a marble plaque attesting to the company’sphilosophy, which is to adhere tothe values laid out by the Rebbe.There’s a company van emblazonedwith “Mitzvah Tank” and “ChabadMalaysia”, and back at the entrance tothe delivery bay I notice that the stoneFeng Shui lion/dog guardians on eitherside of the gate are respectively engravedwith “Chabad Malaysia” and “MikvahMalaysia”. The Rebbe’s image againhangs alongside portraits of theMalaysian royal couple and a portrait ofthe former prime ministers, AhmadBadawi and Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad.The Rebbe’s image againhangs alongside portraitsof the Malaysian royalcouple and a portrait of theformer prime ministers.That’s not to mention the rooftopmural featuring the Kotel and a depictionof Rabbi Avraham Shemtov visitingUS President George Bush Snr, the hugeJewish library and the DVD room festoonedwith Jewish paraphernalia purpose-builtto enjoy Chassidic music.Tun Dr Mahathir bin MohamadISIT down with Braut in his officemeeting room, and a chocolate cakeiced with “Shalom Andrew Harris”, todiscuss his unique situation. Firstly, whatabout Dr Mahathir?“Yes, the previous prime ministersaid things, but I think a little bit is takenout of context,” he says. “At the end ofthe day, Yahya Cohen, the late presidentof the medical association in Singapore,told me he and Dr Mahathir were classmates.And that actually, he was a swellguy.”Braut has met Dr Mahathir on severaloccasions. A photo from one meetinghangs in his lunchroom. “Once I said‘Yahya Cohen’, he became very warm,”Braut says. “He said, ‘Send him my best,how’s that fellow doing, he’s getting old.’I felt like saying if he’s getting old, DrMahathir [born December 20, 1925],you’re also getting old!”Cohen was a Jewish Singaporeanbornsurgeon, with a Yemenite fatherand Iraqi mother. He became a worldrenownedprofessor and expert in hisfield, and died in 2003. Cohen and DrMahathir studied medicine together atthe then University of Malaya, inSingapore.Dr Mahathir kept up a correspondencewith Yitzhak Rabin when he wasIsraeli prime minister, and helpedorganise a trip with Rabin to bring Israelikids to Malaysia to meet local Muslimchildren. He also runs the Global PeaceForum, and in 2006 invited Bar-IlanUniversity academic Dr Ben Mollov andmade special arrangements for him toenter the country. Dr Mollov went againto Malaysia last year.Being a Jew in KLBRAUT tells me he ended up in KLafter a search for cost-effectiveskilled labour in South-East Asia. It wasto Thailand, the Philippines or Malaysia,and this is where he ended up, about 21years ago.Nu, so, how does Braut feel being aJew in Kuala Lumpur? “Comfortable,”he says. “More comfortable thanBrooklyn, that’s for sure.” He thinks theextremely small community, if youcould call it that, attracts so little attention,that it’s no problem being Jewish inMalaysia.