Malaysia and the Knowledge Economy: Building a World-Class Higher Education System

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

Coalitional Politics, Economic Reform, and Technological Upgrading in Malaysia

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

The Politics of Locality and Temporality in the 2004 Malaysian Parliamentary Elections

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

Making ethnic citizens: The politics and practice of education in Malaysia

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

Share of Labour and Capital in National Income of Malaysia: Estimates for 1960-2004

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

Taking Agriculture to a Higher Plane

Policy alone is not enough to make the agricultural sector globally competitive; a vision needs to be put in place to push the country to the forefront as a major environmentally friendly food producer. Publication/Conference: MIERScan, 10 March 2008.  Download

Assessing The Tourism Sector Potential

  Tourism represents an increasingly important sector of the Malaysian economy. The tourism industry has experienced rapid growth and has been identified as a key driver of the growth in the services sector. The industry continues to be a key foreign exchange earner, contributing to GDP (gross domestic product) growth, investment and employment as well … Read more