What makes Malaysia, Malaysia

1. Price of Proton in Malaysia is about the price of a Hyundai Sonata in the US

The price of a proton Gen-2 is about RM 53 000 (USD 14000) while the price of a Honda Sonata in Malaysia is RM 113 000 (USD 30 000). The price of a Hyundai Sonata in the US is just about USD 14 000, less than half of that of the price in Malaysia. I remember the reason (or excuse) given by the government was that our automobile industry was an infant industry and needed goverment protection. It has been 20 years (since 1985) since we assembled our own car (Proton Saga). I believe that by now, we should have become more efficient and manage to lower the costs of production. This will definitely allow Malaysians to enjoy lower-priced cars.

2. Shortening of passport live period during renewal (NO EXCEPTIONS... I think)

Just yesterday, I tried to renew my passport which had the expiry date of 27 July 2006. I was doing this because I might decide not to comeback to Malaysia next year. If this was the case, I would have an expired passport the next time I try to come back. This was precisely the reason I gave to the Immigration Department when I tried to renew my passport. They had refused to issue a new passport for me starting from my expiry date but only agreed to add six months to the date I renew my passport, which was yesterday, 25 July 2005. So my new expiry date is 25 January 2011 when it could have been 27 July 2011 (a six month difference which is worth RM 50). What is the reason for this?

These are the two things that just passed through my mind. If you have any "Malaysian" experiences you'd like to share, feel free to post comments or email me.