The Political Economy of Malaysian Federalism: Economic Development, Public Policy and Conflict Containment

conflict, fiscal policy, regional policy, Malaysia

Lessons from Post-colonial Malaysian Economic Development

Malaysian economic development has been shaped by public policy in response to changing national and external conditions. Public investments peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s, until the policy reversals driven by sovereign debt concerns and new policy ideology fads. Foreign investments continued to be favoured after independence for ethnic political reasons. Thus, foreign investments continued to be very significant in financial services as well as manufacturing growth, both for import substitution from the 1960s and for export from the 1970s. Private investments were attracted by government provision of infrastructure, cheap but schooled labour, tax incentives, lax environmental regulations and an undervalued currency. Poverty reduction and ownership redistribution by ethnicity were most successful during the 1970s and early 1980s, although it is unclear how much these improved inter-ethnic relations. Economic liberalization and the growing influence of business interests and political elites have undermined the government’s developmental role, culminating in the 1997–8 financial crisis and lacklustre growth since. Malaysian industrialization could only have been achieved with appropriate incentives for investments and technical progress through key policy interventions.Malaysia, development strategies, liberalization, intervention

Multi-dimensional aspects of poverty and their linkages amongst squatters in Kampong Baru Stutong, Tabuan Jaya, Kuching / Wee Chong Hui, Rosita Suhaimi and Annie Wong Muk Ngiik

This is a study on a multi-dimensional aspects of poverty. It attempts to find out the linkages amongst squatters in Kampong Baru, Kuching and their relationships with expenditure, nutrition, housing and access to piped water, electricity, sewage and income

The typology of entrepreneurs among single mothers in Kuching, Sarawak / Nurul Lizzan Kamarudin, Wee Chong Hui and Hasmiza Abdul Majeed

Urbanization, migration, globalization, and the demand for socio-economic well-being have led to the break-up of families. There are concerns for single mothers in the gender-bias society, and single mothers form a target group of the vulnerable in The Tenth Malaysian Plan (2011-2015). Entrepreneurship has been proposed as a strategy for economic development in general and socio-economic development and self-reliance of the less fortunate in particular. Given the scenario, this study seeks to identify the typology of single mother entrepreneurs in Kuching, Sarawak with respect to social-cultural background, experience and decision making. Data was collected by in-depth interviews of single mother entrepreneur of various ethnicities who ran their businesses in Kuching. The study drew on case studies on these entrepreneurs to explore the relationship between socio-cultural background and entrepreneurial development. It reviewed the experiences of these entrepreneurs within their respective socioeconomic settings. It traced the single mother entrepreneurs' decisions at various stages of their lives in general and business cycles in particular. A number of entrepreneurs interviewed had run their current businesses for at least two years. Some of the entrepreneurs became single mothers before they started their current businesses because of their interest and motivation from family members, friends and other mentor-entrepreneurs. Some entrepreneurs started their businesses after becoming single mothers mainly to be better able to support themselves and their families, especially schooling children. A number of the entrepreneurs with secondary education were better able to access government facilities to develop their businesses. Social networks such as participation in the Sarawak Single Mothers' Association provided entrepreneurial exposure and business contacts to facilitate some entrepreneurial development. Some of the entrepreneurs had businesses which are resilient to economic vulnerabilities, although their businesses provided minimal income. It appears that the various government programmes to support single mother entrepreneurs have to be re-organised for the micro needs of the single mother entrepreneurs and made more accessible to the entrepreneurs

Study on the performance of the Sarawak Industrial and Entrepreneurial Information Centre (SIEIC) / Abdul Rahman Deen ... [et al.]

The twenty-first century will see an intense demand for information and knowledge. Trade liberalisation will offer expanding markets opportunities only to be reaped with market intelligence in the knowledge economy. Even businesses confined within national boundaries will need information to respond adequately to foreign competition. Besides serving as inputs to the business, industrial and entrepreneurial community, information and knowledge will also be the end-products for the increasingly sophisticated consuming public. Recognising the challenges of the new millennium, the Ministry of Industrial Development, Sarawak (MID) established the Sarawak Industrial and Entrepreneurial Information Centre (SIEIC) way back in 1995 (see Appendix 1 on Objectives, Functions, Activities and Facilities of SIEIC). The socio-economic and political scenario has changed drastically since 1995. The accelerated development of information technology (IT) has brought forth new opportunities as well as threats. Inter-governmental negotiations in the World Trade Organisation and various economic groupings are already in place. They will impinge on the Malaysian economy in general and the Sarawak economy in particular. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the ensuing economic recession have impacted on the local community. Malaysia's foreign exchange control and attempts at financial and banking restructuring thereafter further changes the business and investment climate. Above all is the resource constraint in achieving aspired objectives and targets

Pengurusan e-rekod penyelidikan, penerbitan dan latihan / Rosita Suhaimi... [et al.]

Publication, Training & Research Administration System (PuTRAS) telah dibangunkan untuk penyimpanan rekod penyelidikan, penerbitan dan latihan sesebuah universiti. Ianya amat penting bagi tujuan laporan, pemantauan, pengukuran dan perancangan halatuju akademia. Sistem ini adalah sebuah sistem bersepadu yang berasaskan Web bagi memudahkan pihak pengurusan untuk mengakses rekod-rekod tersebut secara efektif dan efisien. Laporan-laporan yang kerap digunapakai yang mengandungi maklumat yang terkini juga boleh dilihat melalui laman web oleh pihak pengurusan pada bila-bila masa melalui akses id pengguna dan kata laluan. Penggunaan sistem PuTRAS dapat menepati keperluan pihak pengurusan dan seterusnya mengatasi kesukaran yang dihadapi oleh Jawatankuasa Pengukuran Kualiti dalam mengumpul dan mengenalpasti Petunjuk Prestasi Utama (KPI) penglibatan pensyarah dalam bidang penyelidikan, perundingan dan penulisan. Ini adalah penting memandangkan penglibatan pensyarah dalam bidang penyelidikan, perundingan dan penulisan adalah merupakan criteria utama untuk mengukur prestasi dan produktiviti setiap staf akademik

Targeted gene sanger sequencing should remain the first-tier genetic test for children suspected to have the five common X-linked inborn errors of immunity

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.To address inborn errors of immunity (IEI) which were underdiagnosed in resource-limited regions, our centre developed and offered free genetic testing for the most common IEI by Sanger sequencing (SS) since 2001. With the establishment of The Asian Primary Immunodeficiency (APID) Network in 2009, the awareness and definitive diagnosis of IEI were further improved with collaboration among centres caring for IEI patients from East and Southeast Asia. We also started to use whole exome sequencing (WES) for undiagnosed cases and further extended our collaboration with centres from South Asia and Africa. With the increased use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), we have shifted our diagnostic practice from SS to WES. However, SS was still one of the key diagnostic tools for IEI for the past two decades. Our centre has performed 2,024 IEI SS genetic tests, with in-house protocol designed specifically for 84 genes, in 1,376 patients with 744 identified to have disease-causing mutations (54.1%). The high diagnostic rate after just one round of targeted gene SS for each of the 5 common IEI (X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) 77.4%, Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) 69.2%, X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XCGD) 59.5%, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID) 51.1%, and X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGM1) 58.1%) demonstrated targeted gene SS should remain the first-tier genetic test for the 5 common X-linked IEI.The Hong Kong Society for Relief of Disabled Children and Jeffrey Modell Foundation.http://www.frontiersin.org/Immunologyam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Working Paper No. 2010/102 Lessons from Post-colonial Malaysian Economic Development

Malaysian economic development has been shaped by public policy in response to changing national and external conditions. Public investments peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s, until the policy reversals driven by sovereign debt concerns and new policy ideology fads. Foreign investments continued to be favoured after independence for ethnic political reasons. Thus, foreign investments continued to be very significant in financial services as well as manufacturing growth, both for import substitution from the 1960s and for export from the 1970s. Private investments were attracted by government provision of infrastructure, cheap but schooled labour, tax incentives, lax environmental regulations and an undervalued currency. Poverty reduction and ownership redistribution by ethnicity were most successful during the 1970s and early 1980s, although it is unclear how much these improved inter-ethnic relations. Economic liberalization and the growing influence of business interests and political elites have undermined the government’s developmental role, culminating in the 1997–8 financial crisis and lacklustre growth since. Malaysian industrialization could only have been achieved with appropriate incentives for investments and technical progress through key policy interventions