Description
About the Authors

Malaysia has grown and changed a great deal since it was formed on 16 September 1963. It was then seen as an unlikely nation hastily put together as a federation of British controlled territories in the region. Brunei’s refusal to join at the eleventh hour and Singapore’s secession before its second birthday only seemed to confirm such doubts. Yet, it has not only survived, but even thrived, often cited as a developing country worthy of emulation. Ruled by the same ruling coalition since the mid-1950s, it has been tempting to emphasize continuities, and there certainly have been many.

Looking back at its last half century, this volume first considers changes in development policy in response to national as well as international developments. The remaining three parts consider how public policy has been influenced by and has, in turn, influenced economic distribution, public finance and economic federalism. Besides the familiar focus on ethnic disparities, regional and other distribution issues are considered. The discussion of government taxation as well as spending also focuses on distribution implications. Although constitutionally a federation, Malaysia has been more centralized than most federal states. The way forward requires greater sensitivity to the complex political economy of Malaysia’s unlikely, but nonetheless resilient federation and ruling coalition. This book is published and distributed worldwide by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd except Malaysia.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram has been Assistant Director General and Coordinator for Economic and Social Development, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations since August 2012. He was Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development in the United Nations from January 2005 until June 2012, and (Honorary) Research Coordinator for the G24 Intergovernmental Group on International Monetary Affairs and Development from December 2006 until September 2012.

Wee Chong Hui was born in Sarawak in 1957. She studied in St. Rita's Primary School, St. Elizabeth's Secondary School and Methodist Secondary School in Sibu. She has a BSc in Resource Economics from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang, and Masters in Economics and PhD in Economics from University Malaya. She has been a lecturer of economics at Universiti Teknologi MARA since 1984.

Authors

Malaysia@50