Australian author and commentator of Asian business Michael Backman that caused a storm in a teacup when, he claims, he popularized the Malaysia Bodoh phrase is now back with more. Kita bodoh lagi?

clipped from www.michaelbackman.com
With this cash I thee wed: here comes the bribe
By Michael Backman
The Age
June 20, 2007
A NEW term has emerged in Malaysian political debate and it arose from a column I wrote at the end
of last year.
In the column, I said that Malaysian government waste wasn’t “Malaysia boleh” (the national slogan
that means “Malaysia can”) but “Malaysia bodoh” (“bodoh” translates as stupid.) The column was
emailed pretty much to anyone in Malaysia with an email account.
Many in Malaysia have taken to referring to government waste and poor decision making as coming
from “Bodohland”.
But really the term is too strong because there’s a lot that is good in Malaysia. And besides, Malaysia
is still a developing country. Allowances need to be made for that, but then the Malaysian Government
needs to be careful that allowances do not become excuses.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi came to office in 2003 claiming he would tackle corruption. His efforts
have been less than “boleh”.

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Malaysia

June 20, 2007

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