Yeah. The more I think about this, the more upset I am about it. I'm sorry I wasn't more forthright about putting my question in context.
I haven't been able to dig up contact information for the Malaysian owner/breeder. I'm not sure what I would write to him if I find his e-mail, though. Maybe ask if his dogs are okay or are they ill? Because if he was showing them like this, no wonder they "failed" to bring home any prizes… Debra, you'll enjoy this -- he decided not to follow through with his Basenji breeding program, so he's focusing on his Rottweilers instead.
Anyway, I'm serious... if any Australian breeders know who originally sold him his Basenjis (the article says he got them from a pair of Australian "champion" parents and paid over 20,000 Ringgits each to import them!), please forward the info. I don't think the reporter knows what she was looking at either, because the whole point of the article was to showcase a rare breed that nobody in Malaysia knew about. The article is entitled "Don't judge a dog by its looks," and the point that the reporter makes is that the Basenji isn't popular because they aren't particularly eye-catching to most Malaysians since they look like garden variety street dogs... But I would be saddened to think that it's "okay" for typical Malaysian street dogs to look that skinny, too...
For reference, this is what I had in mind when I was thinking of a naturally skinny sighthound:
Skinniest dog I've ever met, but I think that's how he's supposed to look, and the owner is a nice man. He also has a gorgeous Rhodesian Ridgeback who appears to me to be a perfect, sturdy weight, so I think he knows what he's doing.