The plaque at the Jewish Cemetery of Penang

Malaysia is a country that is jam-packed with diversity including many cultures, environments, foods, terrain and foreign influences throughout its rich history. With all of those great things going for it the question arises as to why Tamar didn’t join me on this visit to Malaysia since we all know she loves these things as much as I do. Well, unfortunately Israel citizens are not permitted to enter Malaysia and Malaysians are not allowed to visit Israel, in fact it even says so in their passports! That’s really too bad for everyone since I’m sure Israelis would have a blast adding Malaysia to their Southeast Asia itineraries and, from some of the young Malaysians I spoke to, there seems to be a fair amount of interest and curiosity about visiting Israel as well.

I started to dig a bit deeper into the current state of Israeli-Malaysian relations and I came across an interesting article written by an Israel professor for whom an exception may have been made (or he holds another passport) since he recently spoke at a conference in Kuala Lumpur. You can read about his impressions of Malaysia and its cultural diversity as well as his experiences with colleagues and conference attendees.

As with anything related to Internet research one thing led to another and I found myself looking into whether there is or ever was a Jewish community in Malaysia. After all, there are thousands of Jews in Iran and nobody from Israel is hopping on a plane to vacation in Iran these days or vice-versa. It turns out that there is a very small Jewish community in Malaysia although it was larger in the past. That past is now represented by the Jewish cemetery that still exists today in the middle of Georgetown on the island of Penang. There were a couple of articles written about this cemetery and they gave me the idea that I could just rent a motorbike and drive around looking for it myself.

The cemetery previously existed on Jalan Yahudi which is Malay for “Jewish Street”. However, the street has since been renamed Jalan Zainal Abidin. I asked a couple of people working at my guesthouse if they knew where that street is or if they’ve even heard of the Jewish Cemetery there but only one person knew the location of the currently named street but he wasn’t familiar with the cemetery. I set out on my motorbike to find Jalan Zainal Abidin and, although it would’ve been a far walk, it only took me about ten minutes to find the cemetery.

The clearly marked gate to the Jewish Cemetery

The gated entrance was clearly marked, “Jewish Cemeter” so I knew I was in the right place. The gate appeared locked with a padlock but there was a man on the other side who told me to just open it up myself but to be sure to not let his dog run out (the key was in the padlock). Aside from that man I didn’t see anyone else in the cemetery so it was just me and the tombstones, at least at first.

The oldest grave that is clearly marked

I wandered around trying to make out whatever I could which was challenging because of the poor condition of some of the inscriptions on the tombs as well as the Hebrew which wasn’t always the modern, newspaper text I’m more used to reading. However, after about five minutes of going it alone I was joined by an older man and his young son who came out to greet me. The man’s name was Raju and he was the caretaker of the premises. He took me around to several areas of the cemetery pointing out various tombs and explaining a bit about each one. He pointed out the oldest grave as well as the most recent. He showed me where a father and son were buried next to each other and also where a fallen Lieutenant in the British India Army was buried during WWII. Overall, the cemetery was very well preserved and there was no visible sign of any intentional destruction. The members of the community are truly resting in peace.

Tombstone of a fallen WWII soldier

He told me that his parents and grandparents knew many people in Penang’s Jewish community and that he maintains the grounds in honor of his family’s relationship and for no real compensation (although he accepts small, individual donations from visitors). Over the years he’s met many of the deceased’s family members who come from the UK or other countries to visit the graves and he actually gathers many clues about the people buried there from the families themselves even if he or his family never knew all of the individuals personally. He said there are very few Jews still in Penang, if any at all. The residents of the streets surrounding the cemetery continue to reflect Malaysia’s current mix of cultures: Malays, Chinese and Indians but there are no longer Jews on what was once Jalan Yahudi.

View my photos from the Jewish Cemetery in Penang.

From reading a bit about Malaysia’s Jewish Community and the Jewish Cemetery on Wikipedia, I’ve discovered that many of the descendants of the community are actually in New York!

Kevin's US Naturalization Certificate (1979)

The problem the first time was that the Vietnamese Embassy wanted to see further proof that I was previously a Vietnamese citizen prior to becoming an American citizen. I have no official Vietnamese documents that prove that such as an old Vietnamese identity card or passport. However, once I sent in a copy of my US Naturalization Certificate they were able to see that the “Country of former nationality” was “Vietnam” and this was sufficient proof that I was previously a “Vietnamese citizen”. On a side note, one thing I love about this Certificate of Naturalization is that I weighed only 30 pounds and still they thought to indicate that my “marital status” was “single”.

So what does getting the Certificate of Visa Exemption mean in practical terms? This means that I can enter Vietnam multiple times for the next 5 years without ever needing to apply for or pay for a tourist visa. I’m not sure how long I’m allowed to stay each time or if there’s a maximum number of visits or days in the country that I’m permitted within any given year. But for the short, annual trip to Vietnam this is perfect.

When I landed at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City I noticed that there was also a special line set up for holders of the “Certificate of Visa Exemption”. There were about three people in front of me in that line which was shorter than the lines for holders of “Vietnamese Passports” or “All Passports”. My passport picture features a full head of hair and no glasses so in order to pass inspection by the immigration officer I had to remove my glasses and look serious for a second but after that I was quickly on my way to collect my baggage.

Now, thanks to the visa exemption, instead of spending money on numerous Visa applications and USPS Express Mail services I can now blow all of my cash inside of Vietnam as was likely intended. Sounds fair to me!

The application was rejected for the following reasons:

1) The barcode number at the bottom of the form was cut off from the page – I think the form must be for the A4 paper size and doesn’t automatically fit on an 8.5″ x 11″ page. My second assumption is that nobody at the Embassy actually uses a barcode scanner and that they must rely on the printed number.
2) Incorrect name/passport/date of birth – They requested that I supply a name change document or US citizenship certificate with my “correct name” and proof of original Vietnamese citizenship. I think their assumption is that most Vietnamese have a Vietnamese name, become a US citizen and somewhere around that time they choose to legally change their name from “Binh Nguyen” to “Bob Newhart”. Of course, I was 10 months old when I was adopted and since I was found as an abandoned baby, nobody knows my Vietnamese name or my actual date of birth. Needless to say I was never issued a Vietnamese passport or any other formal proof of Vietnamese citizenship prior to being airlifted out of Saigon in April 1975.

So, what was I able to send them this time around? Not much more. However, I did send the following documents:

1) A copy of my US Naturalization certificate from 1979 which includes my “country of former nationality, Vietnam”.
2) A copy of my adoption certificate, dated August 1976, which doesn’t say much other than that I was adopted (doesn’t say from where)
3) A note for “#23, Nguyen Ai Quoc” (that’s me, SP-23! and my temporary Vietnamese name) that says:

Blurb about me, SP-23, Nguyen Ai Quoc

4) I also sent this additional photo as further, indisputable proof of how cute I was.

Kevin with the same worried look he has today, "Will they give me the visa exemption?"

I rushed to the post office for a repeat of the Express Mail ceremony. It costs $16 to send the application, including my passport, each way and since I’m running out of time I need to include the self-addressed, stamped envelope and pay for that too. So, what started out as a $20 visa exemption is now up to $84 ($20 + $16 x 4). It’s a bit of a gamble in terms of time and money but if my application is accepted then I’ll save a lot of both over the next 5 years, especially without needing to worry about multi-entry in and out of Vietnam as I travel to other countries in the region. The embassy worker I spoke to over the phone sounded very nice even though I think I totally confused her with my “I don’t know my name or my birth date”. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and I should probably be ready to rush in a regular visa application if I get rejected for the visa exemption a second time. I’m supposed to leave in exactly 2 weeks and I still don’t have a visa! That reminds me, I still need to confirm my airline ticket too!

For information regarding the new 5-year visa exemption for Vietnamese-born people, click here!

Example of a Visa Exemption in a Passport

Great news! As of fall 2008 Vietnam has established visa exemptions for Viet Kieu (Vietnamese overseas). In theory, that means that as a Vietnamese-born person I can apply for an exemption ($20 the first time, only $10 for subsequent applications) and receive a visa exemption valid for 5 years! That’s awesome! That sure beats the expensive cost of getting a 1-3 month visa, especially a multi-entry visa, which is more expensive (with expedited shipping this can add up to well over $100). And I wouldn’t need to worry about visa issues for 5 years at a time which saves time and money. Ahh, membership has its privileges. As an adoptee I hope that they accept my paperwork since it’s different and not as complete as my fellow Viet Kieu, most of whom left Vietnam with their families and parents who were already Vietnamese citizens. I was only 10 months old and so I never had a Vietnamese passport and there’s very little in the way of documentation about me in Vietnam during the war. I have to call the Vietnamese Mission to the UN (an official Vietnamese office here in NY) first thing on Monday morning to get some questions answered. I guess we’ll just have to see how the application process goes!

For information regarding the new 5-year visa exemption for Vietnamese-born people, click here!