The first clue that the village of Gunung Teguh on the East Java island of Bawean might be better off than most other settlements in the area is the condition of the road leading into it. Its new cover of concrete makes it look resilient.

The local villagers have nicknamed it Jalan Mahathir Mohamad. Now, the Malaysian Prime Minister has never visited the village and neither has he contributed to the development of the road—at least n