UNDER NAJIB MALAYSIA GAINS 'FAME': FAMOUS FOR CORRUPTION, FAMOUS FOR MURDER, FAMOUS FOR MH370....

DISGRACEFUL HUMILIATION - Congratulations Malaysians! We’ve finally done something I thought was impossible for such a small nation like ours – we are now known throughout the world!

But the way we gained this publicity was not the way I would have hoped for, unfortunately.

Malaysia has always played second fiddle to other bigger more ‘sexy’ countries in Southeast Asia. In matters of tourism, we lose out to Indonesia, which has the undisputed mecca of all island destinations – Bali.

Heck, even Thailand and Cambodia beat us where tourism is concerned, no thanks to sex tourism and their anything-goes culture.

Geo-politically, Malaysia loses out yet again. During the Confrontation, Western powers, most notably the US, sided with Indonesia, due to its strategic geographical location and the abundance of natural resources. Other countries like the Philippines and Thailand have long been under the influence of the US, Singapore is viewed as a strategic trading and commercial centre, and Vietnam remains the only Asian country that managed to win a war with the US. Taiwan, while technically not a country, is protected by the US.

Brunei? The sultan’s status of one of the richest men in the world alone ensures the high profile of his country worldwide. The associated scandals helped too.

Even the world’s pariah, Myanmar is more famous than Malaysia, and can boast of having a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

So how did we Malaysians gain our place in the world? Sadly we paid a heavy price.

There were the MH370 and MH17 incidents. The initial outpouring of sympathy was soon overshadowed by derision due to the way our officials handled or rather bungled the tragedies, and then there’s the anger of the families of the victims, especially the Chinese.

But those incidents were like a foot in the door. What really made the world take notice of us was the Wall Street Journal report on 1MDB, and the resulting attacks from our government against the esteemed publication.

And since then, Malaysia has gotten annoyed at two other media organisations, Al Jazeera and Channel News Asia.

So we’re now conducting cold wars with two international media organisations, and a regional one.

Well, bad publicity is better than no publicity, as the saying goes.

If that’s not enough, we decided to involve Interpol in our own internal politics when the authorities sent a ‘red notice’ request on Clare Rewcastle and was promptly rejected by the international criminal police organisation.

And let’s not forget the efforts of our erstwhile prime minister. He has cultivated quite a friendship with some world leaders, golfing with US President Obama and importing over two pandas and successfully breeding one in his version of Panda Diplomacy with China.

Oh yes, speaking of diplomacy, my previous letter touched on China’s Ambassador visiting Petaling Street and his remarks there. Judging by the uproar it has caused – his visit, not my letter – we’re probably looking at the start of an international faux pas, though it’s very likely that it will end like all the other unfortunate incidents I listed above, with Malaysia humiliated.

But hey, let’s look on the bright side – Malaysia is now well known throughout the world aren’t we?

We can take heart in the fact that people all around the world are watching us with bated breath, to witness the next embarrassing humiliation that awaits our country.

So let’s thank the powers that be for turning us into the world’s biggest laughing stock in recent times! We certainly couldn’t have brought such humiliation on ourselves without their great leadership.

Malaysia Boleh! What a disgraceful humiliation. -http://www.theantdaily.com/