Transmission of information

This is a perfect example of how influential the USA is, that even a roadside hawker in Kelantan (the only state in Malaysia that is was controlled by an Opposition party before yesterday's election) knows who one of the presidential candidates is. Probably the owners of most small mom-'n'-pop restaurants here don't even know there's a country called Malaysia let alone that we're having elections in the same year as them:

“Yang kito nak kat Malaysia ni pemimpin yang bermutu, buke pemimpin yang penipu! Kok Amerika tu ado Barack Obama, yang Negro tu. Hei, baik pun Negro dio tu, dio tu orgre bermutu, bukan mace Bush yang buat cerito gilo di Irak. Nah, pemimpin begitu loh yang kito nak di Malaysia ni”

(Rice stall owner, in front of Muhammadi mosque, Kota Bharu)

It's from an article titled "Vox Pop ala' Kelate" on Malaysia Today. Kelantanese speak a unique dialect of Malay...it's quite different to listen to. One of my favourite musicians, Zainal Abidin, uses it in some of his songs.

Anyway, translated:

What we want in Malaysia is quality leaders, not leaders who are liars! In American they have Barack Obama, that Negro guy. Hey, even if he's a Negro he's still good, not like Bush who's doing crazy stuff in Iraq. There, it's leaders like that we want here in Malaysia.

(NB black people are still an unusual sight in Malaysia, outside of the urban areas where there are a fair number of African college students.)