It's a testament to the country's infinite charm that Malaysia was adjudged the safest Asian destination and tops for tranquillity.
It's always been the Malaysian construct — a peace-loving, hospitable and harmonious populace while prioritising courtesy, non-confrontation and temperance.
Foreign visitors often marvel at Malaysians' natural eagerness to provide their guests with comfort, hospitality and peace of mind.
It's what Malaysians have always known about themselves, but the accolades from wellness retreat platform Book Retreats' Holiday Relaxation Reportwere still gratifying.
The platform rated 76 nominee nations on safety, solitude, serenity, nature and wellness and how they handle protected areas, forest coverage, crowd density, noise and light pollution, peacefulness and wellness.
In selecting the winning nations, Malaysia stands tall with Australia, Canada, Iceland, Finland and New Zealand.
Not to enter our own basket and carry it, to reference a venerable Malay proverb, we defer to foreign migrant workers' perception of Malaysia.
The migrants, despite episodic local backlash, feel so much at home that they overstay and, on their experience alone, inspire millions more to journey here, comfortably legal or arduously illegal.
Malaysia's acclaim also extends beyond its bilateral and multilateral foreign policy, stretching out a helping hand to downtrodden nations under the "Prosper Thy Neighbour" initiative.
Malaysia has provided critical investments and technical aid, primarily to struggling developing nations by seeking equitable returns, rather than clawing for a lion's share.
Internationally appreciated is Malaysia's alacrity to rescue faraway friends oppressed by war, tyranny and devastation.
The Bosnians, Iraqis and Palestinians among notable recipients who have been entrusted with our peacekeeping troops.
Not everyone's on board: lost in this twisted cynics' sneer that our altruism subverts charity at home is this sober perspective: Malaysians are merely distressed by solvable socio-economic woes.
Conversely, the wretched of the Earth we help are routinely annihilated by the bully's bulldozers, bullets and bombs. Our sacrifice is justified.
Naturally, Malaysians celebrate their spontaneous inclusivity with everyone by their festive open houses for feasting, goodwill and friendship.
While our modern embodiments gleam with world-class skyscrapers, industrialisation and high technology, our inner soul resonates from the small towns and villages imbuing traditional values and care for the community.
The soul is renourished every year as Malaysians take part in the "balik kampung" ritual, where millions return to their ancestral homes to reconnect.
Nevertheless, not everything is undefiled: we're flummoxed by corruption, political abuse and tribal zealotry.
We're agitated by human and drug traffickers desecrating our borders and cyber scammers who exploit Malaysians' easy-going nature.
But we take comfort in the declining number of petty and violent crimes, attesting to our yen for safety and wellbeing, an ingrained Malaysian psyche.
Caution: Malaysia's humanitarianism doesn't mean we are pushovers.
Far from it: we've defied foreign imperialistic behemoths and convicted powerful insiders who claimed to be heroes or saviours but criminally profit from our benevolence.