39 Quotes by Malaysian authors

Malaysian sayings speak in many tongues yet share a quiet, steady wisdom. Pepatah and peribahasa carry kampung earth under their nails, while pantun glides with sea wind from the Straits. Themes of budi, humility, and gotong-royong mingle with wry pragmatism, honoring adat without resisting change. Images of monsoon rain, morning markets, and city neon hold lessons in patience, respect, and balance. From merantau journeys to shared meals, these voices trace how community shapes the self, and how kindness travels farther than cleverness.

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"You can't have too much of everything, you must have a balance, that's very important"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I, talking about my children, of course I wanted them to succeed in life, they have to choose whatever job or occupation that they want, I will not try to influence"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I'm a schizophrenic mix of wannabe glamourpuss and absolute slob, and my style is very much magistrate-meets-barmaid"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"So I went to English school, secondary English school, so forget going to Mecca for my religious education"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I have always been interested in politics. I was in the student union before, very active"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"Very old fashioned to say that they will be well behaved but I think it's very important"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"Sometimes children do forget their filial responsibilities"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"So when I had to make a decision whether I would like to do honors degree course in Islamic studies and Malay studies too, so I thought Islamic studies would be good"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I always said that you can use the same vehicle although the driver will change, or the same vehicle to go for the race. It's a different driver, this is exactly what's happening to the cabinet"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"Well, there are other aspects, I still command very good support in the party"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"We have followed a path of moderation, development is our priority, national unity, good community relations, Muslims and non Muslims, this is what has given us the advantage"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"We have also set up the national institute for ethics. This institute and also the implementation of the national integrity plan, that will certainly do the follow up that is necessary for this"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"It must be a balance in everything we do, not too much of everything, keep it simple, not complicated"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I am quite a spendthrift but just being careful because my family was not rich, was not a rich family"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"We have now recently launched the national integrity plan"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"The idea is that they wouldn't want to deal with militant Islam but an Islam and Muslims who are committed to progress, committed to development, who like peace and are moderate in their ways. So that's what we are doing here"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"But I have always said that it's important we must make sure that justice is at all time be maintained"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"As a child, the paddy field was my playground"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"Of course education becomes very very important and that's for our human resource development"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I just picked up golf, it was good, give me a chance to play golf"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"We have been given a role to play. We have been asked to provide, to give lectures on the role of Islamic development and the way we do it here, so the people who are Muslims there would understand what the role of Islam is"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"We go fish, we also catch fighting fish, looking for birds and it was for kampong people, the paddy field was our the play field for the children"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I will be happy with certainly when the corruption index improve"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I believe it is an important project, it makes the cost of doing business lower and they will make us more competitive at the same time, it will also provide some satisfaction to the people who demand services for them of the quality they want and also quickly"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"When she was in United States, we maintained contact, we talked to each other on the phone, almost every night. And there was one occasion I tried to fix this video conferencing but somehow it did not come out very well enough so better to talk on the phone"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politician

"I wouldn't say I was grumpy. It's more pathological - I have seismic tantrums. I get red in the face and cry at least three times a week, and I have to lie down and have a nap afterwards"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I prefer highs and lows to an even keel. Moderation is never something I've been good at"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I might be needy, competitive and desperate but it's far better than being wet"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I love fashion, but I don't come from a background of loving clothes, and I remember feeling badly dressed from a young age"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I've got this horrible feeling that I'm one of those people who'll always have to flog their guts out to get anywhere"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I'm very jealous of my daughter's education. She's been inspired by her teachers, and nobody inspired me as a teenager"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I am best viewed from a distance"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"As a rule, wearing a bigger pair of jeans looks better than squishing yourself into a pair of jeans that used to fit before you gave up smoking"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"There should be more booing in shops and restaurants and places like that when when the service is bad. If you've had a poor breakfast in a hotel, you should put your knife and fork down and boo"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I'm the least spiritual person in the world. I can't even abide a smelly candle. I know it's meant to make me relax, and that immediately makes my hackles rise"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I don't do marriage. I think it's incredibly naff. And I don't like vulgar displays of ostentation"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that respect"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"I can eat a man, but I'm not sure of the fiber content"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian

"After graduating from flares and platforms in the early 1970s, I started drama school wearing a pair of khaki dungarees with one of my Dad's Army shirts, accessorised by a cat's basket doubling as a handbag. Very Lady Gaga"

Jenny Eclair, Comedian