Selamat Pagi dan Salam Sejahtera.

Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Nazrin Shah, Tuan-tuan dan Puan-puan, saudara-saudari yang dihormati sekalian.

Saya amat berbesar hati untuk mengucap Selamat Datang kepada anda semua ke Pelancaran Buku “Chronicling Themes in the Economic and Social History of Malaysia.

This is the fourth book by Sultan Nazrin Shah in the last 8 years. One of the Sultan’s many positions are as Chancellor of Universiti Malaya. Perhaps, I should remind the Sultan that this position does not require him to publish more books than full-time professors at the Universiti. Well, my job today is not to offer advice, but to introduce Sultan Nazrin’s most recent book. I contend that Chronicling Themes…” represents an extension of many of the issues expressed in Sultan Nazrin’s prior books: “Charting the Economy…” and “Striving for Inclusive Development…”

“Charting the Economy…” is best known as the study that provided the first empirically based estimates of Malayan GNP during the first four decades of the 20th century, the heyday of the colonial era. This was a signal achievement, but the most lasting influence of the book was the comparison of economic growth and its fruits during the colonial era with the post-independence period. Nowadays, among discussions of the many failings of post-independence Malaysia—lagging economic growth, mismanagement of public investments, failing education, and so on, there are occasional expressions of nostalgia for the colonial period. Some commentators compare the present moment unfavorably with the colonial period, when it is claimed that British rule built an impressive physical infrastructure, established a relatively honest civil service, and integrated students from all races in English medium schools. Well, to paraphrase an old aphorism, “A few swallows do not make a summer.”

The overwhelming evidence in “Charting” exposes the myopia of colonial nostalgia. To cite just one example: from 1900 to 1939, the average growth of per-capita GDP was about 3% per year, but there was only a one-percent annual growth in domestic expenditures. This means that two-thirds of the economic growth was sent straight back to colonial coffers. Moreover, most domestic expenditures did not raise the living standards of the rakyat. Much of it went for conspicuous consumption by the European population in Malaya. Their living standards were more than 20 times higher than those of Malays, Chinese, and Indians. Moreover, there were no taxes levied the high incomes and wealth of European companies. Export taxes were a primary source of colonial revenue, but much of it returned to European owned rubber estates though a variety of subsides. The export tax fell most heavily on Malay rubber smallholders.

In contrast to the colonial era, the growth of per capita GDP from 1970 to 2000 was not only higher, but most importantly, almost all of it was translated into increased domestic consumption. Whatever the failings of post-independent Malaysia—and there are many as we will learn in the seminar later today—they pale in comparison to the pernicious economic and ideological foundations of the colonial era.

Sultan Nazrin’s second book “Striving for Inclusive Development…” is a magisterial survey of Malaysian economic and social history. Suffice to say, if you want to learn about the economic and social progress of Malaysia since Independence, as well as all the missteps along the way, this is the classic reference. I understand an updated and second edition will be published next year. All the government’s five-year plans are examined in detail, but so too are findings from heterodox researchers, including James Putucheary, Jomo Sundaram, Terence Gomez, and Ishak Shari. Sultan Nazin’s approach is to follow the evidence, his own and those of other researchers, to reach conclusions that are grounded in facts and with an abiding concern for the economic and social welfare of all Malaysians.

One of the most important contributions of “Striving for Inclusive Development…” is its pathbreaking analysis of income and inequality from 1995 to 2016 based upon six high-quality nationally representative household surveys. Other studies have provided indirect evidence on Malaysian economic progress, but this book provides the most detailed and thorough analysis of rising incomes and reduced inequality in recent years. Malaysian levels of income inequality are still too high—they are above the average of all OECD countries and most East Asian NICs, but the trend toward decreased inequality is encouraging. Further analyses show that economic gains and reductions in inequality are evident for all ethnic groups and in rural and urban areas. There is still a significant income gap between ethnic groups, but the trend is toward parity and might well be due to other characteristics, such as education or location.

Another remarkable feature is Sultan Nazrin’s thoughtful and candid reflections on the unintended consequences of government actions that followed in the wake of the New Economic Policy (NEP). He observes that progress has been made, but many new challenges have arisen. For example, he notes:

Ethnicity-based affirmative action policies and programs…expanded under the NEP, initially worked well in leveling up economic and social opportunities (but)… institutional weaknesses… (have prevented Malaysia from) becoming a cohesive society which offers all its citizens a voice, respects and celebrates diversity, and places effective checks on those entrusted with power.

Among the unintended consequences of Malaysia’s policies, he enumerates the following:

1. Ethnic segmentation in education and a public sector that has become mono-ethnic, 
   
2. A sense of entitlement among many beneficiaries,
   
3. An exodus of higher educated Malaysians—a “brain drain,”
   
4. A culture of patronage, which has shifted policies from being pro-poor to being pro-business in which elites have concentrated political power in exchange for privileges,
   
5. Corruption, which has eroded the quality of public services and undermined the rule of law. 
   

Among his recommendations for building a more inclusive and sustainable Malaysian society are:

• An affirmative action program focused on need rather than ethnicity,
  
• Governance, which tolerates differences and dissent as intrinsic to a healthy democracy.
  

With these themes in mind, today we will explore the contributions of the authors of the chapters in Sultan Nazrin’s edited book: “Chronicling Themes in the Economic and Social History of Malaysia.” Almost every essay has a historical theme: some are rooted in the colonial period, some compare the colonial and post independent eras, and others examine issues in the seven decades since Merdeka. The authors range far and wide, drawing upon theories, insights and methods from multiple disciplines, and varied analytical approaches. There is persistent attention to the actions and policies of government, which affect the welfare of the people. If all this sounds familiar, it might just be because these are the interests and issues that have guided the research in prior books by Sultan Nazrin Shah.

I trust that the ideas and findings from the book being launched today, as well as the brilliance of the scholars in this room, will inform public thinking in Malaysia and perhaps even government planners in their objective of building a more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable Malaysia.

Perhaps, I can take the liberty of offering some personal reflections on the great honor of speaking to this distinguished audience today. Although I am not a Malaysian, I feel as if I am an anak angkat of Malaysia. In 1965, some 60 years ago, I worked on community development in Kampong Mengkuang in a remote region of Kedah. Formally, my job was to encourage village development councils (known as Jawatankuasa Kemajuan Kampong), but my kampong neighbors helped me much more than I ever assisted them. But the experience and subsequent good fortune have allowed me to return to Malaysia many times over the decades.

My association with Malaysia is also deeply personal – my wife of 57 years was also a PCV in Malaysia (she was a lecturer at the DTC in Alor Star). We have two children—one conceived in Malaysia and born in the US and one conceived in the US and born in Malaysia. Although Jo, my wife, is too ill to travel at the present time, my grandson, Coleman, and his wife, Ana, are here with me today. I feel at home in Malaysia, not only because of lifetime of close personal and professional ties, but because America and Malaysia have much in common.

Finally, let me express my deepest gratitude for the great honor of speaking to you today.