Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Enter Mahathir
In 1981 former UMNO member Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister. Under his
watch Malaysia's economy went into overdrive, growing from one based on commodities
such as rubber to one firmly rooted in industry and manufacturing. Government monopol-
ies were privatised, and heavy industries such as steel manufacturing (a failure) and the
Malaysian car (successful but heavily protected) were encouraged. Multinationals were
successfully wooed to set up in Malaysia, and manufactured exports began to dominate the
trade figures.
During Mahathir's premiership the main media outlets became little more than govern-
ment mouthpieces. The sultans lost their right to give final assent on legislation, and the
once proudly independent judiciary appeared to become subservient to government wishes,
the most notorious case being that of Anwar Ibrahim. Mahathir also permitted widespread
use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) to silence opposition leaders and social activists,
most famously in 1987's Operation Lalang when 106 people were arrested and the publish-
ing licences of several newspapers were revoked.
BUMIPUTRA PRIVILEGES
When introduced in 1971 the aim of the New Economic Policy (NEP) was that 30% of Malaysia's corporate wealth
be in the hands of indigenous Malays, or
bumiputra
('princes of the land'), within 20 years. A massive campaign of
positive discrimination began which handed majority control over the army, police, civil service and government to
Malays. The rules extended to education, scholarships, share deals, corporate management and even the right to
import a car.
By 1990
bumiputra
corporate wealth had risen to 19%, but was still 11% short of the original target. Poverty in
general fell dramatically, a new Malay middle class emerged and nationalist violence by Malay extremists receded.
However, cronyism and discrimination against Indians and Chinese increased, while Malays still account for three
in four of the poorest people in the country.
Affirmative action in favour of
bumiputra
continues today but there is a growing recognition that it is hampering
rather than helping Malaysia. Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim was reported in the
New York Times
as saying that
Malaysia had 'sacrificed democracy for the supremacy of one race' because of the economic privileges given to
bumiputra
. In September 2010 Prime Minister Najib advocated a fundamental reform of the pro-Malay policies,
but fell short of calling for the outright scrapping of the system.
In the opposite corner are those such as former PM Mahathir who believes that
bumiputra
would suffer the most
if the administration were to implement a 100% meritocracy-based system. A July 2010 poll by the independent
Merdeka Centre shows that Malays in general are split on the matter: 45% believing the policies only benefit the
rich and well-connected; 48% thinking they are good for the general public.
