malaysia is a land of pengecut
On my second day back in Malaysia, I attended a networking event for Malaysian students. We were discussing the familiar anxieties that seem to haunt every ambitious young Malaysian: brain drain, employment, whether our brightest minds should leave or stay. Then, someone brought up a data leak involving one of Malaysia's major corporations. The moment the topic appeared, people started looking around, lowered their voices, became careful with their words because apparently representatives from the company were in the room as sponsors of the event. The irony was almost painful. Interestingly, the data leak did not even happen at the Malaysian branch. Nobody was making an accusation without evidence, it was not like we were spreading a rumour. We were simply acknowledging something that had happened. Yet somehow, even speaking about a fact became something that required calculation. I left that conversation asking myself a question that has refused to leave me ever since: what have w...