Exclusive Interview with Michael Backman

SONofODIN

This is an interview with Michael Backman.

1. What was the initial thought that prompted you to write about your "Boleh or Bodoh column"? What was and has been your intention in writing the article?
Malaysia has good people, good resources and a legal system that ought to function. It depresses me that Malaysia hasn't been more successful than it has and that it is still fighting the old fights of the 1960s.
Malaysia's Chinese have accepted the NEP and its successor policies. They define themselves as Malaysians first and foremost and are among the proudest Malaysians. They have learned Malay. Essentially, they have done everything that has been required of them and yet still there is this endless preoccupation with race in Malaysia.
Meanwhile the rest of the world is just so unbelievably dynamic now. Malaysia is looking more and more like a sleepy backwater relative to what's going on elsewhere in the world.
Many Malaysians don't seem to understand this. Many like to travel overseas