Economy of Malaysia

Because of the presence of tin and the production of rubber (West-) Malaysia has made an impressive economic development after the Second World War. The country is the largest exporter in the world of rubber, tin and palm oil. Everywhere you go when travelling in Malaysia you pass enormous palm plantations. It starts when you fly over Kuala Lumpur and see all the green palm leaves that are stretched out on linear patterns for miles. When travelling by bus through West- and East Malaysia you have the same view for hours: palm trees planted in perfectly outlined rows. In some places, mostly in East Malaysia, nature has been devastated to be replaced for palm plantations. This has its effects on the wildlife: the living areas of Orang-oetangs, elephants and tigers for example are reduced. Ironically the plantations do attract some other smaller wildlife.
Today Malaysia is a modern and technological developed country. In the last thirty years it has developed to one of the Asian countries with the highest yearly incomes. At one time, the ‘newly industrializing countries’ was a category which included Malaysia along with the four Asian Tigers, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and Chile. “These countries had what the World Bank considers to be fast-growing, middle income or higher economies, possessed a heavy concentration of foreign investment and exported large quantities of manufactured goods, including high-tech products” (Ball et al., 2006, pp. 102-103). The government had decided that the individual freedom and freedom of press should be retained, to prevent ethnic disorder. The reasoning behind this was that stability was necessary to let the economy flourish (Ars, 2001).
Since 1967 there is more cooperation in the region. Malaysia is a member of the ASEAN. After the 1997 Southeast Asia financial crisis, the ASEAN is one of the most dynamic and fastest-developing economic regions in the world. ASEAN’s purpose is to promote economic growth and peace in the region (Ball et al., 2006).
The former prime minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad had big plans to develop Malaysia. In his plan from 1991, the ‘Wawasan 2020’ (the Vision for 2020) he pleas for an economy that will be eight times stronger than the economy of the nineties. The purpose of the plan is to present thoughts on the future course of Malaysia and how the Malaysians should attain the objective of developing Malaysia into an industrialised country. But not only in an economic sense: developed along all the dimensions: economically, politically, socially, spiritually, psychologically and culturally.
A lot of my colleagues and other people I talked to think the plan is way too optimistic and will not succeed in its ambitious targets. Although they agree on that, they also think the plan is a good thing, and that Malaysia is becoming a better country in many ways because of it.