POL 205Asian PoliticsDr. LairsonMalaysia
Malaysia is Singapore lite
500 years Malaysia has been collection of sultanates with areas like Penang, Malacca, and other pieces controlled by foreign states.
19th century – tin and rubber
Profits lead British to establish much greater direct rule
Depression and war undermine British rule
Postwar environment is greatly changed
Malaysian communist party insurrection based in Chinese
Independence in 1957 with sultans and democracy
United Malay National Organization (UMNO) - that allied with the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) organized by Chinese businessmen and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) to establish a winning political coalition based on conservative political preferences
Natural resources abound in Malaysia
Very fertile landTinRubberPalm oilOil
Very different ethnic adaptation to commercial lifeBumiputera (sons of the soil)ChineseIndians
Native Malays have been historically disadvantaged in participating in the modern economy. They have suffered from cultural resistance to saving, accumulation and investment and from British policies that discouraged anything other than farming. By contrast, ethnic Chinese were much more deeply involved in trade and tin mining and by independence were as a group much wealthier than Bumiputera. In 1970, ethnic Chinese had control of about one-quarter of Malaysian firms whereas ethnic Malays controlled less than 2%.
Much resentment and ethnic conflict
1969 Bumiputera riots
Malaysian state and economic development
Bumiputera education and modernization were low
Foreign firm domination of primary product firms
Weak efforts to promote industrialization
1969 riots lead to major affirmative action efforts and tighter control of the government
Cronyism and patronage networks undercut economic developmentPenang leads the way toward emulating Singapore – build SEZ/FTZ
Electronics and semiconductor
Table IV.10The Role of FTZs in Malaysian Manufactured Exports, 1972-1982
Year FTZ Exports % Non-FTZ Exports % Total Man. Exports $Mal.1972 1.0 99.0 7231976 46.6 53.4 2,4851979 74.5 25.5 48601982 52,3 47.7 7516 Source: Rajah Rasiah, “Free Trade Zones and Industrial Development in Malaysia,” in Jomo K.S. (ed.) Industrialising Malaysia: Policy, Performance, Prospects, London: Routledge, 1993, 137.
By the 1980s overflow investment from Singapore – HDD industry
Recent developments:
6% economic growth
1997-98 Asian financial crisis
Split in UMNO – Anwar Ibrahim
Relationship to Guangdong by Malacca – New Silk Road Xiamen University in Selangor