Mahathir's legacy and the stability of Malaysia

Résumé du document

Nowadays, Malaysia is known as a model of rapid development. Indeed, in the middle of the twentieth century, the economy of this country is agriculture-oriented and nothing hints any economic boom to come such as the one which occurs a few years later. The economic growth starts to soar as soon as Dr Mahathir bin Mohammad becomes Prime Minister in 1981. His influence over Malaysia is such that he embodies the economic progress of the country. The twenty-two years during which he does his best to put Malaysia on the path to modernity have contributed to build the hero image of Mahathir. However, his resignation in 2003 triggers several worries regarding the stability of the country as such a charismatic leader cannot be replaced easily. Moreover, the Malaysian society being completely different today than the one Mahathir knows when he becomes head of government, his successor already has to confront the legacy of his predecessor with a country which middle class is far more significant than it used to be. As a consequence, one might wonder how Mahathir's legacy can endanger the stability of Malaysia.

Extraits

[...] January 9th 2004 Anil Netto. “Malaysia's web of politics and business”. Asia Times. January 25th 2006. Anne Munro-Kua, Authoritarian Populism in Malaysia (London: MacMillan Press LTD, 1996) 106. All further references are to this edition. Ibid 106. Ibid 125. Baradan Kuppusamy. “Malaysia ponders Mahathir legacy”. Asia Times. [...]

[...] As a result, he establishes a target of 70 million people in Malaysia in 2100; a population of this size would provide the necessary workforce for an industrialized nation. Preparing the future is also what Mahathir has in mind when he creates the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1994. Based on the model of the Silicon Valley in the United States, the MSC is a zone extending to the south of the present capital, Kuala Lumpur, which goal is to attract companies seeking to create, distribute and employ multimedia products and services. [...]

[...] Ioannis Gatsiounis. “Malaysia's MSC: Super corridor or dead Asia Times. April 21st 2004. Sanjaya Lall, Learning from the Asian Tigers (London : MacMillan LTD, 1996) 150. All further references are to this edition. Anil Netto. “Malaysia's web of politics and business”. Asia Times. January 25th 2006. Ibid. [...]

[...] Asia Times. July 4th 2002 Anil Netto. “Malaysia in transition, but to where?”. Asia Times. January 17th 2003 Anil Netto. “Malaysia: Survival of the fittest”. Asia Times. November 1st 2003 Anil Netto. “Abdullah Badawi: Malaysia's tinker Asia Times. November 25th 2003 Anil Netto. “Malaysia walks in Mahathir's shadow” Asia Times. [...]

[...] Therefore, through privatization and investments, Mahathir leads his country toward modernity and creates a favourable climate for industrialisation The choice of industrialisation If Malaysia is among the best performers in the developing world over the past twenty-five years, Mahathir's involvement is definitely of significance to explain such an outcome. As soon as he becomes Prime Minister, he launches the ‘Look East' policy in order to accelerate the industrialisation of Malaysia. As a method, he takes Japan and South Korea's as a model for their rapid development, and he promotes heavy industrialisation in order to increase productivity and reduce losses. [...]