It's not Malaysia "boleh", it's Malaysia "bodoh"

By now, many Malaysians would've read Michael Backman's well-written article, "While Malaysia fiddles, it's opportunities are running dry" on Australia's The Age. Isn't it funny that whenever a mat salleh talks or writes about our country, our leaders and our media go up in arms about it? Perhaps it's because they are self-conscious and care a great deal about what foreigners think about Malaysia. But if that is the case, then all these recent talk about Malay rights and Malay agenda at the UMNO General Assembly are just going to make things worse. And, in this instance, the media seems to focus more on the use of the phrase "Malaysia bodoh" in that article, instead of the general message of government wastage. Today, on The Star, we have the Minister of International Trade and Industry, Rafidah Aziz saying:

“What do we care? Obviously, this person doesn’t know Malaysia. He is an outsider and he can say what he likes. I don’t really care about what others say – as long as it is not a Malaysian saying it.”

Perhaps Rafidah Aziz should've attended Parliament sittings more regularly because the Opposition party has been saying the same things for many, many years. In fact, the silent majority of Malaysians have always been grousing over these same issues. Michael Backman himself noted that 95% of responses to his article from Malaysians, in and out of Malaysia, have been positive. It is time our leaders wake up to reality.

One important point to note: Malaysia will become a net oil importer by 2011 and our oil will run out in 19 years. Natural gas, I think, will run out in 40 years. Petronas will still be making its hefty profits importing and exporting oil, but the price increase will be passed all the way down to us, ordinary Malaysians. That is why, as it is, we cannot afford any more wastage.

Technorati tags michael backman, malaysia bodoh