Contemporary Malaysia
For the last two decades, Malaysian politics has been dominated by the present prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohammed , who, like all previous PMs, leads the UMNO party; he has triumphed at every election since winning his party's nomination in 1981. UMNO is the dominant party in a coalition, the Barisan National (BN), which includes representatives from the other mainstream Chinese and Indian parties. Many Malays have got richer through the NEP's blatantly racist system of opportunities, such as tax, educational and financial breaks, but their share of the economy still stands at just twenty percent. In 1991, the supposedly less iniquitous New Development Policy succeeded the NEP, though it still favours bumiputras. The main voice of opposition has been the Islamic Fundamentalist Party , PAS, which wants to bring strict Islamic law into force in Kelantan . In a Muslim country, Mahathir cannot be seen to be too un-Islamic in opposing PAS outright. Instead, he has done little to assist the economy of Kelantan, which remains the poorest state in Malaysia. The 1999 general election re-asserted BN's strong grip over the nation, but PAS made some significant gains, most notably taking Terengganu, a state which previously had been solidly behind the BN. The economic hardship that many Malaysians endured during the Southeast Asian financial crisis of 1997 is cited by some observers as the reason why voters turned away from the ruling party. Mahathir may not have met with any substantial internal opposition, but some of Malaysia's economic policies have been condemned internationally. Logging and development projects, such as the now-ditched Bakun Dam hydro-electric scheme, in particular, have brought severe criticism. Currently, logging is actually on the decrease, but critics say that within thirty years forests will cover less than twenty percent of the surface of the country, instead of the current sixty percent. The issue which has harmed Mahathir most, however, concerns his personal dealings with his former second-in-command, deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim . Dr Mahathir began to see Anwar as a threat, and, in a manner which shocked many Malaysians and much of the democratic world, Anwar was imprisoned in 1998, awaiting trial on charges of homosexual misconduct and political mis-management. By early 2000, he had not been proved conclusively guilty of either, but still remained behind bars. His wife Azizah Wan Ismail leads the Keadilan Reform Party, which made a minor impact in the 1999 election, winning a handful of seats. The Anwar issue has succeeded in rallying some disparate opposition forces, but not to any potent effect. Now that the Malaysian economy is regaining its strength, Mahathir's hold on the political scene looks for the time being unassailable. The mid-Nineties' government plan to turn Malaysia into a fully developed country by the year 2020 is now back as a viable policy after the eonomic worries of the last four years; to all intents and purposes, Malaysia is already a Newly Industrialized Economy. But many observers wonder how Malaysia can continue to expand its economy and maintain full employment, and suspect that certain skeletons in the closet, particularly the ethnic distrust which has characterized the country's recent past, will return to haunt it when factors such as the likelihood of recession start to bite.
Pengerangbj says "How to go to Pengerang kelong" languagesaja says "is teh spoken langague used
"
Your Tip for Malaysia
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Malaysia - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Malaysia - visit the main Malaysia forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Malaysia webguide section below! Thanks.
|
