Maybe We Should Blame the French and the British for All Our Problems

The English have this word “malaise” that means “a general feeling of illness, without clear signs of a particular disease” or “a feeling of uneasiness, whose exact cause cannot be explained.”

The French have this word to mean Malaysia. It is spelled “Malaisie”.

Given the similarities between the two words and the poor spelling skills of most people, it should not be surprising that many people mistake the two words. The end result? Many people think that Malaysians are people who suffer from malaise.

When I was in school many moons ago, we had a principal who always used to reprimand slackers with the combined Malay-English word of “tiadapathy.”

However the Backbenchers Club appears to be getting more into the action now with the request to KL City Hall for a “Stop Work” order on the highway project that is threatening some houses in KL. Let’s hope they continue with the good work.

Maybe the AP scandal has caused everyone to waken from their Rip Van Winkle slumber.


photo: http://www.ripvanwinklemotorlodge.com/images/rvwfade.jpg