The importance of oil and gas to the modern Malaysian economy seems readily obvious. The twin towers that stand majestically in Kuala Lumpur are a towering testimony. Oil can be a curse, not a blessing, if this precious resource is mismanaged, as shown by the experience of some countries. In the case of Malaysia, one … Read more
Among all the factors that influence the rapidity and substance of economic growth, it is now clear that state institutional capacities (and related bureaucratic competence) for economic governance are among the more decisive (Evans and Rauch 1999, Rauch and Evans 2000). Among the countries that have sustained an impressive record of economic growth in recent … Read more
This paper examines the relation of particular forms of social and labour market policy to economic development. Taking the history of Malaysian industrialization as its empirical case, the paper assesses the unintended consequences of redistribution policy, on the one hand, and migration policy, on the other, for the limited upgrading of the country’s electronics industry. … Read more
Sound macroeconomic and human resource development policies have underpinned Malaysia’s strong economic performance in recent years, making it one of the most rapidly developing economies in the world. The Government of Malaysia fully recognized the need to sustain its growth prospects in the long-term, to maintain its competitiveness and move up the technology chain to … Read more
Many attribute Malaysia’s admirable economic growth to liberal economic policies. However, this view ignores the way coalitional politics often drove illiberal government intervention in the economy to correct ethnically based economic inequality, create national heavy industries, and favor politically well-connected entrepreneurs. A more nuanced analysis reveals a complex mix of liberal and illiberal economic policies … Read more
Contemporary Southeast Asia 27, no. 1 (2005): 44–63; Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. This article examines the role of locality (ethnic composition of the constituency) and temporality (the almost five-year hiatus between elections) for BN in the parliamentary elections. In the 2004 Malaysian parliamentary elections, the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (National Front, BN), secured a … Read more
This report is part of the advisory services being provided by the World Bank at the request of the Government of Malaysia. The first phase of advisory services includes (i) the firm-level survey and (ii) the report on firm competitiveness. The second phase is aimed at implementing the findings of this report and will include … Read more
This paper examines the politics and practice of education in Malaysia within the context of ethnicity and nation-building. Public education in Malaysia – particularly, but not exclusively, at the pre-university level – is promoted as a nation-building tool, seeking to inculcate a sense of Malaysian-ness and patriotism. Simultaneously, however, public education – particularly, but not … Read more
The national income accounts provide a summary of all transactions in an economy. Seen from the income side, the production process creates incomes for the owners of the inputs used in production including labour and capital. Official data on the income accounts from the income approach are not available on an annual basis. The information … Read more
Digitisation of cultural heritage materials is not new in Malaysia. Different types of cultural heritage institutions have embarked on several digitisation projects. Various types of cultural heritage materials have been digitised and made publicly accessible. Author: Zuraidah Abd Manaf. [Download]