Stories, Notes & Community Highlights
Reflections, recaps, and shared moments from the heart of MyTTC — where every story matters and every voice belongs.
MyTTC Community Journal
What This Space Is About
This is where MyTTC shares stories from the community — from event recaps and member highlights to useful notes for Malaysians living in Indonesia. It's a living journal, shaped by the people who show up, share, and make this community what it is.
Whether you're a longtime member or just discovering MyTTC, these stories are an open window into the spirit of what we're building together — one gathering, one conversation, one cup of teh tarik at a time.
🫖 Stories
Personal reflections and member experiences that capture the heart of community life.
📋 Notes
Practical tips and helpful advice shared by Malaysians navigating life in Indonesia.
✨ Highlights
Event recaps, milestone moments, and celebrations from across the MyTTC community.
Why Teh Tarik Still Brings People Together
Community Reflection
There's something quietly powerful about a glass of teh tarik. It's never just a drink — it's an invitation to slow down, to sit, and to belong. For Malaysians far from home, that familiar froth and sweetness can carry the weight of a thousand shared memories.
In Jakarta, in Surabaya, in Bali — wherever MyTTC members gather — the ritual of pulling tea becomes a gentle act of cultural preservation. It says: you don't have to leave yourself behind to build a life here. Warmth travels. Familiarity is portable. And community, it turns out, can be brewed almost anywhere.
"It wasn't just tea. It was the feeling of being understood without having to explain yourself."
A Warm Malaysian Circle in Indonesia
Member Story
Being an expat means reinventing your sense of home. MyTTC was created with a simple belief: that Malaysians in Indonesia deserve a circle — a real one, rooted in shared language, shared culture, and shared laughter.
From the very first meetup to today's growing community, the goal has always been the same. Not just to host events, but to create genuine belonging. A place where you can show up as you are — speaking Manglish, craving nasi lemak, missing your mum's cooking — and feel completely at ease.
MyTTC is that circle. Built by members, shaped by stories, and held together by the quiet understanding that being far from home doesn't mean being alone.
Shared Language
Manglish welcome. No translation needed.
Shared Culture
From food to festivals, we keep it Malaysian.
Shared Belonging
Because home is also the people around you.
New in Jakarta: Notes From the Community
Practical Tips
Moving to a new country is exciting — and occasionally overwhelming. That's why MyTTC members share what they've learned, so you don't have to figure it all out alone. From navigating neighborhoods to finding the best nasi kandar substitute, these are notes written by people who've been exactly where you are.
Finding Your Footing
The first few weeks can feel disorienting. Members recommend joining a community group early — even before you've fully settled in. Connection speeds up the feeling of being at home.
Where to Find a Taste of Home
Jakarta has more Malaysian flavors than you'd expect. Members have mapped out the best spots for roti canai, teh tarik, and char kway teow — and they're happy to share the list.
Staying Connected
From WhatsApp groups to monthly meetups, MyTTC keeps communication simple and warm. You'll always know what's happening and where to show up next.
More Than a Meetup
Community Insight
It starts with a casual get-together — a few people, some food, a shared laugh. But somewhere along the way, a meetup becomes something more. It becomes the place you look forward to each month. The people you call when something goes wrong. The group that shows up with advice, a meal, or just a listening ear.
MyTTC has seen this happen again and again. Social gatherings, when held with intention, evolve into genuine support systems. Members have found job referrals through community connections, made lifelong friendships at teh tarik sessions, and navigated some of life's harder moments with the help of people they met at a MyTTC event.
The strongest communities aren't built on grand gestures — they're built on small, consistent moments of showing up for each other. That's the MyTTC way.
The Journal Grows With Us
MyTTC is not just about events. It is about people, stories, experiences, and shared journeys. As the community grows, this journal will become a living archive — a space to celebrate the real spirit of what it means to be Malaysian in Indonesia.
Every recap, every reflection, every practical note contributed here is a thread in something larger. A tapestry of belonging, woven together one story at a time.
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Community
One shared identity, across every city in Indonesia.
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Stories
Every member carries a story worth telling and worth reading.
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Strangers
Because in MyTTC, you're always among friends from the very first hello.
Have a story to share? A note that helped you settle in? A moment from a MyTTC event that stayed with you? This journal is yours too. Reach out to the team and let's tell your story together.
Malaysians in Indonesia: A Living Presence Across Business, Community and Culture
Indonesia and Malaysia share one of the most natural relationships in Southeast Asia. Geography, linguistic familiarity, business ties, education, tourism and family connections have long created a constant flow of people between the two countries. For many Malaysians, Indonesia is not a distant foreign market — it is a place of work, friendship, opportunity and everyday connection.
That is what makes the Malaysian presence in Indonesia so compelling to understand. It is not defined only by embassies, boardrooms or trade figures. It is also visible in daily life: in the professionals building careers in Jakarta, in entrepreneurs moving between regional cities, in families with roots across both countries, and in familiar tastes and brands that make Indonesia feel a little closer to home.
A Relationship Measured in Movement
One of the clearest signs of this connection is the sheer intensity of travel between the two countries. According to BPS-Statistics Indonesia, Malaysians were the single largest group of international visitors to Indonesia throughout 2024, accounting for 2.28 million visits — or 16.4% of the country's 13.9 million total international arrivals that year, a 19.83% increase over 2023. The pattern held firmly into 2025: Indonesia welcomed 15.39 million foreign tourists in 2025 (up 10.8% year-on-year), and Malaysia remained the top source market throughout the year, consistently accounting for more than 14–17% of monthly arrivals. In November 2025 alone, Malaysians led with 207,040 visits representing 17.27% of total arrivals for that month.
The flow runs in both directions. Malaysia also consistently ranks as the top destination for outbound travel from Indonesia. In November 2024, Malaysia accounted for 28.29% of all outbound Indonesian tourist trips — the leading destination by a wide margin.
These numbers matter because they reflect more than tourism. They point to a wider ecosystem of business travel, professional mobility, family connections, education pathways and short-haul regional connectivity. For Malaysians in Indonesia, this helps explain why the sense of familiarity can feel immediate upon arrival. The two countries remain deeply connected through repeated, everyday exchange.
The Malaysian Footprint in Indonesia's Business Landscape
Malaysia's presence in Indonesia is also visible through the institutions and companies that have built long-term commercial ties here.
The Malaysia Chambers of Commerce Indonesia (MCCI) connects Malaysian businesses with opportunities in Indonesia and the wider ASEAN region, facilitating business forums, networking events, government relations and cross-border collaboration. That in itself signals that Malaysian business activity in Indonesia is not incidental — it is organised, networked and supported. At a broader bilateral level, the Malaysia-Indonesia Business Council works specifically to strengthen private-sector relations between the two countries, further anchoring this cooperative framework.
That commercial presence is also unmistakable in some of Indonesia's most recognised brand names.
CIMB Niaga counts CIMB Group Sdn. Bhd. as its controlling shareholder, making it one of the most direct expressions of Malaysian capital in Indonesian banking. Maybank Indonesia — part of the Maybank Group, Southeast Asia's fourth-largest bank — recorded a significant 48.5% surge in profit after tax in FY2025, driven by better cost management and reduced loan loss provisions. Looking ahead to FY2026, Maybank is guiding for 8–10% loan growth in Indonesia, ahead of the anticipated system growth of 9–11%, while simultaneously rolling out its next-generation mobile app in Indonesia as the first market globally for that digital initiative. XL Axiata, meanwhile, is part of Malaysia's Axiata Group and remains one of Indonesia's major telecommunications providers.
These are not niche or peripheral examples. They are major brands operating in the sectors — banking, telecommunications, aviation — that shape daily economic life in Indonesia. The significance is straightforward: Malaysians in Indonesia are not present only as visitors or expatriates. They are part of a broader ecosystem of capital, management, entrepreneurship and professional exchange that has been developing for decades. In many ways, the Malaysian presence is strongest where it becomes most ordinary — in banking relationships, digital services, aviation links and the wider professional community.
The Cities Where the Connection Feels Strongest
If one were to map the Malaysian presence in Indonesia, several cities naturally stand out.
Jakarta remains the primary centre for diplomacy, corporate activity, finance and professional networking. It is where regional offices, chambers, banks and institutional relationships are concentrated. It is also where most Malaysians first build their Indonesian professional network, and where the formal architecture of the bilateral relationship is most visible.
Batam and Medan feel important for a different set of reasons. Their proximity and connectivity to Malaysia make them natural hubs of cross-border movement. Batam's significance was underscored in March 2026 when AirAsia Malaysia launched a new daily Kuala Lumpur–Batam service, commencing 13 March 2026. Malaysia is already Batam's largest international source market, contributing over 25% of foreign tourist arrivals between January and August 2025. International passenger arrivals at Batam's Hang Nadim International Airport reached nearly 140,000 in 2025 — a 64% increase from 2024 — and the new AirAsia route, which expands the airline's Malaysia–Indonesia network to 19 routes, is expected to add over 22,000 passengers within its first three months alone. The route is not just logistically convenient; it is a symbol of how lived and practical this corridor continues to be.
Surabaya and other major commercial cities matter as extensions of this footprint, especially as Malaysian-linked business, food culture and professional mobility spread beyond the capital. Even where the institutional presence is less visible than in Jakarta, the commercial and cultural familiarity remains part of the story — and this is often where community becomes more personal and more local.
Bali represents a different dimension of the relationship altogether. It is a meeting point of tourism, lifestyle entrepreneurship and international community. For many Malaysians, Bali is not only a destination but a gateway into a wider Indonesian experience that blends leisure, business and social networks in a uniquely accessible way.
Familiar Flavours, Familiar Comfort
No account of Malaysians in Indonesia would be complete without food. Culture often becomes most visible not in official settings, but in the small, everyday moments that make a place feel like home. A good cup of tea, a kopitiam-style breakfast, or a familiar Malaysian meal shared among friends can carry more meaning than any formal statistic. These are often the spaces where community quietly begins.
Indonesia already offers several visible touchpoints for that sense of familiarity. Penang Bistro has established itself as the first and most enduring modern Malaysian restaurant in Indonesia, bridging culinary cultures in a setting that feels both distinctive and welcoming. KOPITIAM® operates multiple outlets across Jakarta, reflecting how the broader kopitiam dining culture — with its leisurely pace, strong coffee and communal spirit — has found a genuine place in Indonesia's urban landscape.
These venues matter because they are more than food outlets. They serve as cultural bridges, memory triggers and informal meeting places. For Malaysians living in Indonesia, they provide continuity — comfort without distance, and familiarity without withdrawal. For Indonesians, they offer an accessible window into Malaysian culture through flavours, rituals and hospitality styles that feel both distinct and close at the same time.
More Than Numbers
One honest challenge in writing about Malaysians in Indonesia is that a precise, publicly updated figure for the resident Malaysian community is not always easy to verify through open official sources. But that does not reduce the reality of the presence. In fact, the more compelling story may be that the Malaysian footprint in Indonesia can be seen clearly even without a single headline number. It is visible in travel patterns, in major institutions, in recognisable brands, in organised business networks and in everyday cultural familiarity.
That is what makes this relationship genuinely distinctive. It is large enough to matter economically, close enough to feel personal, and familiar enough to allow community to form quickly. For Malaysians in Indonesia, the experience is often not one of complete foreignness, but of discovering a neighbouring country that feels understandable — even as it remains full of new possibility.
Why This Matters to My Teh Tarik Club
My Teh Tarik Club exists precisely in the space between familiarity and connection. It is about building a platform where Malaysians in Indonesia — together with friends of Malaysia, professionals, entrepreneurs and community builders — can meet through culture, conversation and shared identity. In that sense, the Malaysian presence in Indonesia is not merely background context for the club. It is the reason the club makes sense.
MyTTC is not only about nostalgia. It is about building relationships for today: friendships, professional networks, collaborations and a stronger sense of belonging in the cities where Malaysians live, work and contribute. Whether through food, dialogue, events or partnerships, the opportunity is not simply to celebrate Malaysian identity abroad, but to connect it meaningfully with the Indonesian environment around us.
Malaysians in Indonesia are not only present. They are participating — actively, continuously and consequentially. They are part of a larger, ongoing story of regional connection, shared growth and cultural familiarity.
And that story is still being written.
My Teh Tarik Club (MyTTC.org) is a community platform for Malaysians in Indonesia and friends of Malaysia — connecting people through culture, conversation and shared identity.