When I was in school in the mid-1980s, we used to say, of something inferior, that it was “local”.
Kasut kau local, lah.
Baju dia local betul.
It was certainly unreflexive – you hear the word bandied about amongst older boys in school, you try it on in your own conversations, you get familiar with how it fits into the way you praise or deride something.
It was only much later in life, when I was older, that I would reflect on these conversations, and especially that term – “local”. I suppose it was a natural reflex for a young nation, still grappling with its sense of identity and self-pride. Industrialisation and manufacturing was still a nascent thing in 1980s Malaysia, and there was a natural expectation that anything manufactured locally would be inferior, sub-standard, poor.
I am old enough to remember when the first Proton Saga appeared on our local roads. Most Malaysians were still happy to use second-hard Corollas and Civics, and there was a real skepticism that Malaysians could make something as complex as a car.
Today, “Made in Malaysia” is no longer a pejorative, and we are known throughout the world as a major hub for manufacturing, especially in electronics and electrical goods. I doubt if children still use the term “local” to describe something sub-par, and I suppose it is a mark of the times that no one says this anymore.