I read with disgust the letter “Check rude behaviour” (The Star, June 25) and cannot help but agree with the writer about the unpleasant encounters that one gets from the market to shopping malls, from hospitals to airports. Just where has all the teaching gone? The bad manners can be easily felt when one lands on Malaysian soil because of the sudden change in culture.

In Malaysia, it seems that people practise good manners only because they have to do so. They are forced to do so because it is part of their job. It seems that it is not from within them and it is not in them to be polite and customer-friendly. However, to those Malaysians who are genuinely friendly and good mannered, I salute you because you have been brought up and nurtured well.