Take a look at the Kuala Lumpur skyline and it's clear that Malaysia is thriving
Malaysia is not dissimilar to Indonesia and Singapore in that all these countries have long-serving, non-elected leaders who serve until they're almost dead, and then pass the reins of power onto a well-groomed deputy. There are elections, as in Indonesia, but the National Front party, dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) majority faction, has held power continuously since independence in 1957, and the opposition has all but disappeared: Malaysia is a one-party democracy, and it would take a serious crisis to foster any change.
The current Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has been in power since 1981 (having once been expelled and exiled by his party), and he's not going anywhere: his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, is much more liberal, but there's no sign of Mahathir stepping down yet1. This has produced an environment where the leader does pretty much what he wants.
To the outsider, the most obvious effect of this democratic dictatorship is the anti-western propaganda. Dr Mahathir, in his personal support of Islam, has to tread a fine line between keeping the Muslim fundamentalists happy, with their calls for a ban on alcohol, gambling, snappy dressing and having a good time, and the Chinese, who make lots of money and gamble like crazy (not to mention the fact that they eat pork, something that Islam bans). A common bond between the Islam of the Malays and the neo-Confucianism of the Chinese is a hatred of the West, even if Mahathir isn't that keen on agreeing that the Chinese are in the same boat as his own Malay people.
Of course, anti-western propaganda is often hypocritical: Singapore is a good example of the type of economics that accepts the West and flourishes. Mahathir, however, blames almost everything on the Americans, claiming in his book The Voice of Asia that 'western societies are riddled with single-parent families, which foster incest, with homosexuality, with cohabitation, with unrestrained avarice, with disrespect for others and, of course, rejection of religious teachings and values.' I haven't read anything like this since studying Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale in school: Mahathir's vision of Asian Values, as he calls them, are that Asians are hard-working family people who are morally sound, religious and good at making money, and that the West is simply the opposite.
In Malaysia, examples of Mahathir's opinions abound, from the media to the political stage. Take this example from The New Straits Times, Wednesday 26th November 1997, on the 'Young Times' page, a page aimed at young people:
American-ology
by Wan Imran Wan ChikAmerica here, America there,
America seems to be almost everywhere,
Sticking their noses into other countries' affairs,
Right down until your very own underwear,
'Cause they think that this whole world is theirs.
A modern country but with uncivilised people,
Infecting the world with their lifestyles and ideology,
They live without tradition or moral values, making everything look so very simple,
Invading the world through weapons of psychology,
By creating their utopia called Americanology.
'A' serious effect upon the Earth's ecology,
Making fewer friends and more and more enemies,
By disrupting other countries' peaceful economy,
Without saying 'Excuse me!' or 'I owe you an apology!'
Advanced in space travel and in astronomy,
Creators of nuclear bombs and war technology,
Heroes only in movies, novels and short stories,
'Cause every last American President needs a lobotomy.
America is a hero only to fools' eyes,
It is a villain wearing a disguise,
Plaguing the world by telling lies,
Only to be seen by leaders who are wise,
Leaders who listen to their nations' cries.
For those who are foolish America's price they will pay,
To become an uncivilised country but modern in every way,
By gambling their future to be modern and richer today,
As social problems would grow each and every day,
And the countries' identity, cultural and traditional heritage would just seem to fade away,
Which is the only defence against America which has gone far astray.
Pretty full on, isn't it? To complete the picture, Malaysia practises positive discrimination against non-Malays; Singapore's leaders cite this as the reason for their country leaving the Federation, because Singapore refused to extend these pro-Malay policies to its people, who are mostly Chinese, not Malay. Malaysia is made up mainly of Malays, but the number of other groups – Chinese, Indians and so on – is significant; the government, however, doesn't treat everyone equally in law. For example, non-Malays can find it difficult to go to university in Malaysia due to restrictions imposed on the number places available to them, so gifted 'immigrants' often go abroad for their schooling, to places like Australia and America.
But there is no doubt that Malaysia is thriving, and has managed to create a stable and forward-looking economy from a post-colonial market that consisted of rubber, tin and timber exports only. Even if its Prime Minister is fond of huge building projects to satisfy his ego, there are plenty of worse regimes in the world: and after Singapore and Brunei it has the highest standard of living and most developed economy in Southeast Asia.
1 In September 1998, Anwar was sacked and was put on trial on charges of corruption and committing illegal homosexual acts, for which he received a six-year jail sentence. Then, in June 1999, Anwar was put on trial for sodomy, and in July 2000 he was sentenced to a further nine years in jail. Anwar Ibrahim says he was framed, and that the whole thing was a political set-up. Whatever, it leaves Dr Mahathir unchallenged as Malaysia's leader.
