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| Photo by Greg Cope |
| The Prime Minister’s
Office in Putrajaya, the new administration
capital, is a shining example of Malaysia’s
modernization efforts. |
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| Photo by Greg Cope |
| Kuala Lumpur’s telecommunications
tower stands 1,381 feet tall. |
No matter what a visitor has read or seen in the
movies, Malaysia betters every expectation. Prime
Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
sums it up best. “Visitors’ opinions change
during their drive from KLIA [Malaysia’s world-class
airport] to Kuala Lumpur city center.”
Over the course of this drive, it is next to impossible
not to be struck by the country’s remarkable
infrastructure development. Visitors whiz by impressively
modern mosques and world-class resorts that contrast
amazingly with the lush greenery of the idyllic palm
plantations that line much of the freeway.
At the crowning moment when the Petronas Twin Towers
first appear on the horizon, visitors invariably begin
to wonder if everything they have ever heard about
Malaysia being a third world country was inaccurate.
Often mistakenly associated with its generally more
conservative Arab brothers, Malaysia is widely considered
to be the most moderate of the Islamic nations. The
Bumiputra, the indigenous, predominantly- Muslim Malaysians,
dominate the country’s secular government but
leadership is shared among the ethnic Chinese and
Indians as well. Perhaps more surprising is the number
of women in positions of great authority.
The opposite of oppressed, Malaysia’s women have
broken through the glass ceiling.
“Malaysian women are fully liberated when it
comes to pursuing professional objectives,” says
Marie T. Huhtala, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia.
Quite a few Malaysian women are very active in politics.
Several even hold cabinet positions. Dato’ Seri
Rafidah Aziz, Minister of International Trade and
Industry, Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of
Women and Family Development, and Y. Bhg Tan Sri Dato’
Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia,
the Central Bank, are among the most visible.
And no, Malaysia’s women don’t all wear
head coverings, and yes, they drive cars.
Not even half a century old, Malaysia is a relatively
wealthy nation with little unemployment. In Malaysia,
there is a joke: being extremely poor means not owning
a TV, not starving. Because of the high proportion
of middle-class citizens, and thanks to intensive
government efforts to encourage wealth-distribution,
there is little pressure on the population to try
to earn an extra buck from the passing tourist. Visitors
can go for months in Malaysia without being harassed
by a peddler even once. Malaysia’s crime rate
is among the lowest in the world.
One can also get around without ever consulting a
Bahasa Melayu dictionary; nearly everyone speaks English,
even the cab drivers. Malaysia has a 93 percent literacy
rate.
Unlike other nations that are fighting the forces
of globalization, Malaysia has stepped forward, embracing
and leveraging its power. The country has a steadily
growing small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector,
and its trade figures consistently top 200 percent
of GDP. After Hong Kong and Singapore, Malaysia is
Asia’s third most open economy.
Continuously upgrading its infrastructure, Malaysia
is using a clearly coordinated and integrated approach
to connect highways, railways, ports, airports, and
telecommunications systems.
KLIA (30 miles south of Kuala Lumpur) is one of the
most modern airports in the world. Its initial capacity
of 25 million passengers per year is expected to grow
to 60 million by 2020. It services 40 international
airlines. Many of KLIA’s passengers come to experience
the wide array of attractions – both natural
and manmade – that Malaysia offers its tourists.
The government is also developing KL Sentral, a $1.6
billion transportation hub, which will integrate all
major public transportation networks, including the
soon-to-be-open downtown monorail, the light rail
transit (LRT) system, and the express link to KLIA
and Putrajaya, the Government’s new administrative
center.
Much of this development is under the auspices of
the $16 billion Multimedia Super Corridor project,
designed to create a 9.1 by 31.1 mile high-tech corridor.
A multi-ethnic federation consisting of two regions--peninsular
Malaysia, which borders Thailand in the north and
Singapore in the south, and the states of Sabah and
Sarawak on the island of Borneo, separated by 640
miles across the South China Sea--Malaysia is a cultural
melting pot just like the U.S.
Within Malaysia’s three main groups (Malays,
Chinese, and Indians) a variety of religions, cultures,
and traditions flourish. Whenever there are religious
holidays among any of these three groups, open houses
are organized and are typically attended by everyone.
A major Christmas festival was even organized for
the first time in 2002.
Malaysia has a young and growing workforce. Seventy-seven
percent of the population is under the age of 40.
Forty-five percent of Malaysia’s citizens were
born during Mahathir’s 22 years of leadership.
A “good track record of political stability,
economic pragmatism, and social harmony,” explains
Mahathir’s longevity, says Y. Bhg Dato’
Mustapa Mohamed, Executive Director of Malaysia’s
National Economic Action Council (NEAC).
“We have the ambition to become a developed country
and have given ourselves a time span,” explains
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, referring
to Mahathir’s Vision 2020. “Malaysia is
devoted to bringing about growth and development for
her people,” says Malaysian Ambassador to the
U.S., Dato’ Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid.
Malaysia’s only major setback in recent years
was due to the spillover affects of the 1997-1998
Asian financial crisis. Many blamed corrupt activities
for causing and/or exacerbating the crisis. “Malaysia
is not without corruption, but the cancerous effect
has been contained,” says Syed.
Malaysia’s decision to buck the trend and disregard
International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies in favor
of a domestically designed strategy paid off. “We
wanted to maintain our socio-economic policy and our
economic flexibility,” says Mustapa.
“Our track record of growth since the crisis
speaks for itself,” notes Ghazzali.
“Even in the depth of the financial crisis,
health and education were not spared,” notes
Khazanah National’s Managing Director, Y. Bhg
Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd. Sheriff Kassim. Numerous
new hospitals are under construction throughout
the country. Today, Malaysia has 11 public and 13
private universities.
There are 18,000 foreign students in Malaysia and
100,000 Malaysians studying abroad. Datuk Haji Mohmad
Shaid Bin Mohd.Taufek, the mayor of Kuala Lumpur,
who holds an MBA from American University in Washington,
D.C., laments that Malaysian students are having difficulty
acquiring the visas needed to gain access to top American
universities. Cross-cultural exchange, he believes,
is vital to improvement of global relations.
Abundant natural resources have helped to shield Malaysia
from many economic storms.
“What saved Malaysia was the diversity of its
economy. Because we have agriculture, we did not need
to put all our eggs in one basket,” says Syed.
ASEAN was Malaysia’s biggest trading partner
during the financial crisis, and maintains that position
today.
These days, Malaysia is banking on its biodiversity
to boost economic growth. An enormous number of opportunities
exist for pharmaceuticals and research organizations.
“We look at the niche we can achieve,” says
Syed.
Malaysia’s expertise is regularly sought by other
developing countries seeking assistance. Rather than
offer aid or grants, Malaysia offers technical assistance
and know-how. “We learn from those whom we are
teaching,” says Syed. “The process is mutually
beneficial.”
Malaysia’s citizens consistently demonstrate
a strong ethic for success. “Malaysia is an example
that a developing country can succeed in bringing
change to its landscape,” says Syed. “Developing
countries can prosper with clear policies, vision,
objectives, and political stability.”
Malaysia is a remarkable fusion of cultures held together
by a common vision and shared success. As a result
it offers an unbeatable combination of third world
prices and first world quality, providing amazing
value for money.
It is absolutely one of Asia’s best-kept
secrets.
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