Financialization of Malaysian Citizens A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2018 Syahirah Abdul Rahman Alliance Manchester Business School People, Management, and Organisation Table of Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... 6 List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... 7 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 8 Declaration ............................................................................................................................ 9 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ 11 About the Author ............................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 14 1.1 Opening Remarks ................................................................................................. 14 1.2 Research Background ............................................................................................... 16 1.2.1 Situating Financialization and Cultural Political Economy in the Thesis 19 1.2.2 Situating Financial Citizenship in the Thesis .......................................... 24 1.3 Research Objectives and Research Questions ..................................................... 27 1.4 Summary of Research Design and Methodology .................................................. 28 1.5 Significance of Research ......................................................................................... 30 1.6 Structure of the Thesis ............................................................................................ 31 Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 34 2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 34 2.2 The Development of Financialization ................................................................... 35 2.2.1 Financialization at the Macro- Middle-, and Micro-Levels ......................... 38 2.2.2 Historical Analysis of Themes, Drivers, and Outcomes of Financialization Studies ........................................................................................................................... 45 2.2.3 Identifying Limitations and Situating the Thesis in Financialization Literature ..................................................................................................................... 56 2.3 The Choice of CPE to Explore Financialization ................................................... 58 2.3.1 From Political Economy to Cultural Economy .............................................. 58 2.3.2 Positioning CPE in the Thesis .......................................................................... 62 2.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 67 Chapter 3: Conceptualising Financial Citizenship ..................................................... 69 3.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 69 3.2 What is Financial Citizenship? ................................................................................ 70 1 3.2.1 How Citizenship Matters in Financialization ................................................ 71 3.2.2 Defining Elite-Citizen Relations in FC ........................................................... 76 3.3 FC: The Malaysian Historical Context ................................................................... 82 3.3.1 Colonialism and Its Impact on Malaysian Societies ..................................... 83 3.3.2 Postcolonial Nation Building ........................................................................... 89 3.3.3 Post-Independence Modernisation ................................................................. 93 3.4 FC Initiatives and the Stock Market ...................................................................... 96 3.5 Formulation of Research Questions .................................................................... 100 3.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 103 Chapter 4: Methodology ................................................................................................. 106 4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 106 4.2 Pragmatism and Mixed Methods Research Design ............................................ 108 4.3 Research Methods Employed for Data Collection ............................................. 116 4.3.1 Document and Datasets Analysis .................................................................. 116 4.3.2 Sequential Semi-Structured Interviews....................................................... 119 4.4 Phase 1: Sources of Information and Data Collection Procedure for RQ1.... 125 4.5 Phase 2: Sources of Information and Data Collection Procedure for Research Question 2 ...................................................................................................................... 130 4.6 Data Analysis: Triangulation ................................................................................. 134 4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 136 Chapter 5: Policies and the Stock Market: The Historical Development of the Malaysian FC ...................................................................................................................... 138 5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 138 5.2 Early Beginnings for the Stock Market and FC Development (Pre-1970s) .... 141 5.3 The New Economic Policy (the 1970s) ................................................................ 143 5.4 The Mahathir Era (the 1980s to early 2000s) ..................................................... 151 5.4.1 Neopatrimonialism, Look East, Malaysian Inc., and Vision 2020 ............ 152 5.4.2 The Agogo Years .............................................................................................. 158 5.4.3 The 1997/98 Asian Financial Crisis .............................................................. 161 5.5 Rebuilding FC Credibility Post-AFC (Post-2000s until 2009) ........................... 166 5.5.1 Continuing Direct Investment Initiatives in the Stock Market ................ 168 5.5.2 FC Development Through the Promotion of Indirect Ownership and Shariah Investment Products .................................................................................. 174 5.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 184 Chapter 6: The Modern Programme of Financial Citizenship Development (2009 onwards) ............................................................................................................................ 187 6.1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 187 2 6.2 Steps in Shifting Responsibility from Elites to Citizens ................................... 189 6.2.1 Reducing Broad-Based, Citizen-Focused Subsidies ................................... 191 6.2.2 Creating Financially-Responsible Citizens .................................................. 195 6.2.3 Reforming the Retirement System............................................................... 200 6.2.4 Cultivating Inclusion through Education ..................................................... 206 6.3 Elites’ Perspective on Results and Issues Faced in the Modern Programme of FC Development ............................................................................................................ 212 6.3.1 Expectations, Results, and Issues ................................................................ 213 6.3.2 Problematising the Inclusive Notion of FC ................................................. 218 6.4 Chapter Conclusion ................................................................................................ 225 Chapter 7: The Role of Citizens in FC ..................................................................... 228 7.1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 228 7.2 Characteristics of Financial Citizen Interviewees ............................................ 232 7.3 Financial Citizens’ Response to Elites ................................................................ 235 7.4 Financial Responsibility and Autonomy Among Citizens ................................. 243 7.5 Problematising Neoliberalism in FC Development............................................ 250 7.5.1 Culturally-Conditioned