There has been a lot of talk lately about Jeremy Clarkson labelling the Perodua Kelisa as the worst car in the world. I've been a big Clarkson fan for some years now and to tell you honestly, that video of him bashing the Kelisa was already out and about in 2005. And for Malaysia to only start defending it's second national car-maker now just goes to show how slow we are in receiving news, be it good or bad, or in a more local slang, how offbeat we are.


An article from the BBC:-

Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has come under attack in the Malaysian parliament for labelling one of the country’s cars the worst in the world.

The BBC presenter has been filmed attacking the Perodua Kelisa with a sledgehammer before blowing it up.

But minister Abdul Raman Suliman defended the nation’s car industry, saying Mr Clarkson was like a football commentator who cannot play football.
He told MPs, Perodua had not received a single complaint from British owners.
He added that the comments were made merely to boost sales of the Top Gear magazine.

Mr Clarkson has voiced his frustrations with the small three-cylinder model in both magazine articles and on the Top Gear motoring show.

In one article, he said its name was like a disease and suggested it was built in jungles by people who wear leaves for shoes.

And on the show, he described it as “unimaginative junk, with no soul, no flair and no passion”.
He then smashed it, hung it from a crane with a one-tonne weight attached, before blowing it up.

Perodua is Malaysia’s second national carmaker and began producing small compact models in 1995.

The video can be seen here:-
http://paultan.org/archives/2005/12/19/jeremy-clarkson-annihilates-the-perodua-kelisa/


Judging from the comments made my minister Abdul Rahman Saliman and the comments made by the visitors to the website above, you could tell that they all share one thing in common :-

The typical Malaysian mentality of kiasu-ness.


Some people judge the credibility of Clarkson. They want to know who is this Englishman who suddenly decided to take a swipe at Perodua. Mr. Clarkson, ladies and gentleman, is one of the few men in this world who has been given the priviledge to test out different cars and to give an impartial and unbiased view about the cars he tested. He is not paid by any high flying corporations to promote their brand. He has tested various types of cars, from million dollar sports cars, to family vans and 4x4s, to budget,low-cost cars and even second hand cars.


Yes, he said the Kelisa is the worst car in the world and yes, most Malaysians are unhappy and wants Clarkson dead. But that's so typical of Malaysians. They get so overprotective about themselves. These are the same people who would gladly tell you to fuck off when you tell them that the food served in their favourite restaurant tastes as good as a bucket of horse manure.


Why can't Malaysians accept the fact that the Kelisa is indeed rubbish? I've been driven in a Kelisa before and to tell you the truth, sitting in the passenger side of a car the size of a shoe and going through our famous pot-hole filled Malaysian roads is as comfortable as falling down a flight of stairs. Sure it is a low cost car and we shouldn't complain about the quality we get for RM30-40k but why isn't Perodua trying to improve their products? Clarkson once criticized Vauxhall (a British car brand) and sales dropped immediately. That was years ago and now, the new Vauxhall cars are getting better better.


Malaysians should stop being overprotective with themselves and should receive criticisms with an open mind and strive to improve themselves. I receive criticisms almost daily for being fat, lazy and also being a smoker. But I do not go ape shit and start hitting everyone in the face with a shovel. I accept their criticisms with an open mind. Do I improve myself? Yes I do. I'm walking more, studying more and smoking more. There you go....improvements.