Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Malaysia. Approach with caution

Superb. I would say only in Malaysia, but actually this could happen in most of Asia given the levels of corruption. Anyway it seems the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has decided that the $650million found in Prime Minister Najib Razak's bank account was a donation, and in no way related to the $650million hole in the finances of government entity 1MDB.


So that's alright then.

Having spent several years living just across the causeway in Singapore, visiting Malaysia always felt like a visit to the second world. Nice smooth motorways with slum towns and villages on either side. Some ok, but not really maintained infrastructure surrounded by crap. It's stories like this that remind you that in fact in most ways it's really the third world with a few shiny towers and buildings thrown in. Anyone contemplating investing in anything Malaysian should assume it will go pear-shaped and treat any other outcome as a huge result. And don't forget to budget for the bribes.