‘Chronicling Themes in the Economic and Social History of Malaysia’ was successfully launched on 2 December 2025 at The St Regis Kuala Lumpur. The event was attended by some 300 invited guests, including members of Perak’s royal family, senior federal and state government officials, the diplomatic corps, national and international agencies, business, authors of the books 35 chapters, senior representatives from World Scientific Publishing, and the media.

A summary description of the book is found here: (Link to summary description)

The launch began with a short video animating some of the visuals from the book:  (Link to Launch Video)

Following that, a speech was made by Professor Emeritus, Charles Hirschman, University of Washington, Seattle. A video of Professor Hirschman’s speech can be accessed at:  (Link to Hirschman video)

In his address, HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah, observed that ‘Understanding the economic and social history of any country—including both its achievements and its challenges—is fundamental for framing transformative policies. Policies are not conceived and implemented in a vacuum. Context matters. History matters. Culture matters, as does institutional capacity.’A video of Sultan Nazrin Shah’s speech can be accessed at: (Link to video of HRH’s address)

A video showing the highlights of the launch event can be viewed at:  (Link to video of highlights)