Minum petang culture — is it still alive in Malaysian offices in 2025?
by Zati Aziz·May 24, 2026
Genuinely curious. My parents talk about the 4pm tea break as a non-negotiable part of office life in the 80s and 90s. Whole floors would take a break together.
At my current company (mid-size private firm in PJ), it's technically still there but functionally dead. People eat at their desks while on calls. The idea of 20 people stopping to have tea together for 20 minutes feels impossible.
But I visited a friend's GLC office recently and the minum petang was very much alive. Everyone stopped at 4. Plates of kuih appeared from somewhere. It was genuinely pleasant.
Is this a GLC vs private sector split? Or is it gone even in GLCs? Would love to hear from people currently working in different environments.