Malaysia: New reforms, old continuities, tense ambiguities

Of the countries hit by the Asian economic crisis in 1997, Malaysia was the least hurt. The government was thus initially able to reject neo-liberal prescriptions, instead administering capital controls and corporate bailouts. However, despite short-term success, different kinds of foreign investors, top politicians and business elites, and mass-level constituencies gradually forced wide policy swings. Facing contrary pressures, the government fluctuated between 'orthodox' regimens of neo-liberal reforms and good governance agendas on one side and patronage and corrupt practices on the other. This article analyses these fluctuations, then speculates that re-equilibration may have recently have taken place. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Ltd.