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In 1985, Homi Kharas visited a rural fishing village in northwest Malaysia expecting to find poverty.
Kharas, who was employed by the World Bank at the time, had reason to expect this: The Malaysian government had specifically told him that this region, in the state of Kelantan, was the poorest in the country. But when Kharas arrived, he was surprised to see not destitution, but the trappings of middle-class life — a concrete jetty, TV antennas sprouting from rooftops, and a health clinic.
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About the author
Lauren Evans@laurenfaceevans
Lauren Evans was formerly an Assistant Editor/Senior Associate in the Office of the President at Devex. As a journalist, she covers international development and humanitarian action with a focus on climate and gender. Her work has appeared in outlets like Foreign Policy, Wired UK, Smithsonian Magazine and others, and she’s reported internationally throughout East Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.