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| A veneer of local truth |
| M Bakri Musa | Jul 10, 08 11:42am |
 Ioannis Gatsiounis
Monsoon Books, Singapore. 2008
273 pages Indexed
US $15.95
Soon after Abdullah Badawi led his Barisan Nasional coalition to a landslide electoral victory in 2004, I wrote a blistering critique of his leadership. He had hoodwinked voters, I wrote, with his slick “feel good” campaign, and that sooner or later Malaysians would see through his emptiness.
I had the piece previewed by my friend and frequent collaborator Din Merican. He suggested that I hold back and instead give Abdullah a chance. I did.
Little did I know that at about the same time (October 2004) an American journalist in Malaysia - Ioannis Gatsiounis - had written for Asia Times an essay titled Abdullah’s Honeymoon is Over in Malaysia.
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‘Would they rise above their own clannish tendencies?’ |
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Unable to escape its suffocating clutches |
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