Turning isolating distance into social space
By Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng
March 2011 EDITORIAL
Like people in most developing countries, Malaysians suffer automobiles not only as a necessary tool for modern living, but as a purported key driver of the economy.Having a car-making industry supposedly generates an army of suppliers of parts from simple nuts and bolts to sophisticated electronics. The consumption Ringgit needed to keep a car running also fuels the capitalist economy, and in the process creates status symbols for the wealthy, the newly rich and the faux affluent.Thinking this way, however,...
Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng
is the Executive Director of Penang Institute. His latest book is Signals in the Noise: Notes on Penang, Malaysia and the World (Singapore: Faction Press) Homepage: wikibeng.com.
