Suchergebnisse

This paper examines prerequisites for a successful interstate economic corridor development program in a country with a federal system of government through an in-depth study of the design, implementation, and the developmental impact of the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) in Malaysia that encompasses the states of Penang, Kedah, Perak, and Perlis. The analysis suggests that the NCER has the potential to leverage on the core strengths of the state of Penang - global connectivity, mature business ecosystem with a strong presence of multinational enterprises, and sizable talent pool - in order to redress the widening interregional and urban - rural development divide. While it is too early to assess the full outcome of NCER initiative, a potential problem looms in the future. The Northern Corridor Implementing Authority (NCIA), charged with implementing projects in the NCER, is structured with no formal positions allotted to planning officials from the member states. This will not pose problems in implementing projects that are in broad alignment with the interest of the states. Conflicts will arise, however, when state and NCIA views on projects differ. This potential problem can be overcome by restructuring the NCIA to allow for the formal inclusion of planning representatives from member states.

ABSTRACTThe electronics industry in Malaysia was assigned a central role in creating urban jobs for the indigenous Malays and restructuring their employment from low‐ to high‐paying activities. The initial labour‐intensive phase generated jobs but failed to provide openings for Malays higher up in the occupational hierarchy. In the current phase, a buoyant economy makes job creation per se less important; but the growing technological sophistication in the industry threatens to undermine the restructuring of Malay employment because many Malays lack the critical skills necessary to take advantage of this development. This article reviews these issues and suggests policy initiatives.

An independent candidate, Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, won the Johore Baru parliamentary by-election in August 1988. The article considers what the results signal for the Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's administration. It is argued that the Johore Baru election may well prove to be a watershed in Malaysian politics. (DÜI-Sen)

The New Economic Model, launched in 2010, affirmed that employing immigrant labor has delayed the upgrading of Malaysian manufacturing. We found that evidence based on the share of skilled workers, wage rate growth, capital use and productivity growth is consistent with this assertion. The way forward should embrace, among other factors, two thrusts: better regulation of foreign workers and the cost of using them in order to pressure firms to upgrade and increasing the talent pool to support the transformation. The latter thrust should include measures to raise the skills of natives, retain skilled natives, attract native talent residing abroad and enticing non-native talent to help the upgrading process.