How Malaysia can overcome identity politics and create inclusive growth amid diversity
Andrew Sheng says on the 55th anniversary of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, the country must grapple with channelling its diversity into building an inclusive knowledge society
Was it only 55 years ago when the Federation of Malaysia was formed on September 16, 1963? On that day, I was super proud to witness at the parade ground in Jesselton (today Kota Kinabalu) the formation of an independent nation, with Sabah and Sarawak joining the 11 states of Malaya. One forgets easily today that it was a time of grave uncertainty, when the Philippines had a claim on North Borneo and Indonesian president Sukarno was actively against the idea of Malaysia.
When a country is in its middle age, its citizens could be forgiven for reflecting on those golden days when we did not think we were just Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli. We were simply Malaysians, proud to be rid of colonialism and eager to form a unified, independent nation.
Economically, Malaysia has become, according to McKinsey Global Institute, one of seven “outperformers” that have achieved real per capita gross domestic product growth of more than 3.5 per cent annually for the past 50 years. The other six are China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
But globalisation has also created inequality, particularly between rural and urban dwellers. Malaysia was one of the first countries to tackle inequality seriously. The New Economic Policy was a pioneering effort to narrow the economic and wealth gap. The policy succeeded in creating a Bumiputra professional class, but it has not succeeded so far in creating a Bumiputra entrepreneurial class.
