DOCSLIB.ORG

Southeast Asian Studies

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Southeast Asian Studies SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES Vol. 3, No. 2 August 2014 CONTENTS The Politics of Technocracy in Southeast Asia Guest Editors: Teresa S. Encarnacion TADEM, KHOO Boo Teik, and SHIRAISHI Takashi The Editors Technocracy and Economic Decision-Making in Southeast Asia: An Overview ......................................................................................(241) SHIRAISHI Takashi Indonesian Technocracy in Transition: A Preliminary Analysis ........(255) PASUK Phongpaichit A Short Account of the Rise and Fall of the Thai Technocracy .........(283) Chris BAKER SUEHIRO Akira Technocracy and Thaksinocracy in Thailand: Reforms of the Public Sector and the Budget System under the Thaksin Government .......................................................(299) Teresa S. Encarnacion TADEM Philippine Technocracy and the Politics of Economic Decision-Making: A Comparison of the Martial Law and Post-Martial Law Periods .................................................................(345) Khadijah MD KHALID Technocracy in Economic Policy-Making in Malaysia ........................(383) Mahani ZAINAL ABIDIN KHOO Boo Teik Technocracy and Politics in a Trajectory of Conflict ..........................(415) Book Reviews Nikki J. Y. LEE Nissim Otmazgin and Eyal Ben-Ari. Popular Culture Co-productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia. Singapore and Kyoto: NUS Press in association with Kyoto University Press, 2013, x+276p. ...................................................................................(439) Michael G. VANN Jafar Suryomenggolo. Organising under the Revolution: Unions and the State in Java, 1945-48. Singapore and Kyoto: NUS Press in association with Kyoto University Press, 2013, xiii+215p. ................................................................................(441) Sverre MOLLAND Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, ed. An Atlas of Trafficking in Southeast Asia: The Illegal Trade in Arms, Drugs, People, Counterfeit Goods and Natural Resources in Mainland Southeast Asia. London: I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2013, x+214p. ..............................................(444) Hjorleifur JONSSON Jean M. Langford. Consoling Ghosts: Stories of Medicine and Mourning from Southeast Asians in Exile. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013, vii+263p. ............................(447) Somchai Andrew Walker. Thailand’s Political Peasants: Phatharathananunth Power in the Modern Rural Economy. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2012, xiii+277p. ....................(449) Karl Ian Uy CHENG CHUA Laurence Monnais and Harold J. Cook, eds. Global Movements, Local Concerns: Medicine and Health in Southeast Asia. Singapore: NUS Press, 2012, xxxi+290p. .......................................(452) Meynardo P. MENDOZA Roxana Waterson and Kwok Kian-Woon, eds. Contestations of Memory in Southeast Asia. Singapore: NUS Press, 2012, vi+300p. ..................................................................................(457) Ronald D. RENARD Deborah E. Tooker. Space and the Production of Cultural Difference among the Akha Prior to Globalization: Channeling the Flow of Life. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2012, 344p. .........................................................................................(460) Joshua GEDACHT Eric Tagliacozzo. The Longest Journey: Southeast Asians and the Pilgrimage to Mecca. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, ix+356p. ..................................................................................(464) Adiwan ARITENANG Sanchita Basu Das, ed. Achieving the ASEAN Economic Community 2015: Challenges for Member Countries and Businesses. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012, xxvi+347p. ..............................................................................(467) Technocracy and Economic Decision-Making in Southeast Asia: An Overview The Editors (Khoo Boo Teik,* Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem,** and Shiraishi Takashi***) This article provides an overview of issues important to studying technocracy and economic decision-making in Southeast Asia. Historically the subject extends from the incorporation of non-communist states of the region into the US-molded post- World War II international order to the East Asian financial crisis of 1997. To Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, advisory and expert missions of the United States, World Bank, and other international agencies bore “state-of-the- art” economic policy-making and development planning that reserved a special, politically immunized role for technocrats. Yet, technocrats occupied a contentious position because of conflicting interests in changing conditions of underdevelop- ment, late industrialization, trade and investment liberalization, and financial global- ization. As such, the assessment of the relationship between technocracy and eco- nomic decision-making in Southeast Asia should consider such opposed expectations as: the claims of technocratic efficacy against claims on social equity; demands of professional efficiency against demands of public accountability; appeals to state priorities against appeals to democracy; advances of national interests against defense of vested interests; promotion of economic targets against the attainment of social objectives; and the autonomy of technocrats against their captivity to patronage. Keywords: technocracy, economic decision-making, Southeast Asia, technocratic efficacy, social equity, public accountability, democracy, patronage * 邱武德, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato- ku, Tokyo 106-8677, Japan Corresponding author’s e-mail address: [email protected] ** Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines *** 白石 隆, Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization (IDE- JETRO), 3-2-2 Wakaba, Mihamaku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, 261-8545, Japan; National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106- 8677, Japan Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, August 2014, pp. 241–253 241 ©Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University 242 The Editors There has been a sustained academic interest in technocracy in Southeast Asia even if the volume of academic work directed specifically at technocracies and technocrats has not been immense. Compared with the enormous and still growing academic literature on technocracy in Latin America, say, the academic literature on Southeast Asian tech- nocracy may seem to be slight, if not inadequate. Even so, various studies in political economy and politics assessed the contributions of technocracy to economic development and growth of the Southeast Asian region (Milne 1982; Shiraishi and Abinales 2005), or in specific countries. Although, arguably, the region’s best publicized technocrats were the so-called “Berkeley Mafia” of Indonesia while its most admired was the technocratic elite of Singapore, studies have covered different aspects of the roles and impacts of technocrats in Indonesia (MacDougall 1976; Robison 1986; 1990); Malaysia (Montgomery and Esman 1966; Hamilton-Hart 2008); the Philippines (Bello et al. 1982); Singapore (Rodan 2004; Barr 2006); and Thailand (Stifel 1976; Anek 1992; Pasuk 1992). Much of the early academic work on technocracy in Southeast Asia which went beyond making scattered comments on technocrats focused on their deployment by particular regimes for the task of leading economic and development planning. For studies typically conducted from the perspective of modernization theory, the techno- crats’ roles and contributions were largely conceived as an important factor or “input” in development. Such studies assumed that the technocrat’s role was politically neutral and the technocratic input was economically positive (MacDougall 1976; Stifel 1976). To that extent, a benign technocracy served as a professional counterpart to an entrepre- neurial vanguard. Later studies in political economy were more critical of the techno- cratic record in economic policy-making. They rejected any assumed neutrality on the part of technocrats, and instead targeted technocratic “complicity” in the construction of authoritarian regimes, the imposition of socially inequitable programs, and the eventual consolidation of neoliberal governance (Bello et al. 1982; Robison 1986; 1990). Behind those two opposed perspectives stand several issues which have not been systematically discussed with reference to Southeast Asian technocracy, economic decision- making, and politics. Some of those issues might usefully be explored here as a general guide to the concerns of the research project that has culminated in the present volume of articles. Technocracy and Politics Technical decision-making, applied to industrial production and management in the west, notably the United States, prompted some early twentieth-century visions of organizing Technocracy and Economic Decision-Making in Southeast Asia 243 government according to the merits of technocracy, the latter understood as “a system of governance in which technically trained experts rule by virtue of their specialized knowledge and position in dominant political and economic institutions” (Glassman et al. 1993). Partly due to the growing importance of technocracy and bureaucracy in capital- ism after World War II, and partly due to a “general waning of authority of all large institutions and effectiveness of governments” burdened with fiscal problems and “over- complexity” (Peters 1979, 342), technocracy held an
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Literature Review
    From a Capital City to a World City: Vision 2020, Multimedia Super Corridor and Kuala Lumpur A thesis presented to the faculty of the Center for International Studies of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Jen Yih Yap August 2004 This thesis entitled From A Capital City to A World City: Vision 2020, Multimedia Super Corridor and Kuala Lumpur BY JEN YIH YAP has been approved for the Program of Southeast Asian Studies and the Center for International Studies by __________________________________________________ Yeong-Hyun Kim Assistant Professor of Geography __________________________________________________ Josep Rota Associate Provost, Center for International Studies YAP, JEN YIH. M. A. August 2004. Southeast Asian Studies From A Capital City to A World City: Vision 2020, Multimedia Super Corridor and Kuala Lumpur (121pp.) Advisor of Thesis: Yeong-Hyun Kim In 1991, the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad introduced an initiative called Vision 2020, designed to bring Malaysia to a developed country status, and this initiative will eventually support Kuala Lumpur’s position to become a world city. This thesis examines the recent urban restructuring of Kuala Lumpur in terms of the Malaysian government’s current aspiration for world city status. Many capital cities in the developing world have been undergoing various world city projects that aim at, among other things, improving their international visibility, advancing urban infrastructures and promoting economic competitiveness in a global world economy. This thesis focuses on four large-scale constructions in the Multimedia Super Corridor, namely, the Kuala Lumpur City Center, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.
    [Show full text]
  • Azizan - Simbol Impian Rakyat Malaysia
    18/07/2004 Azizan - simbol impian rakyat Malaysia By Kalimullah Hassan SIAPAKAH Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin sehingga Raja, Perdana Menteri, eksekutif tinggi dan pekerja berpendapatan rendah menziarahi jenazahnya bagi memberi penghormatan terakhir pada hari beliau pulang ke Rahmatullah, Rabu lalu? Allahyarham dilihat dari sudut berbeza oleh orang yang berbeza. Menteri Kewangan Kedua, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop melihat Allahyarham sebagai "contoh unggul penjawat awam berpangkat tinggi." Rakan Nor Mohamed dalam Kabinet, Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, berkata Azizan adalah seorang tokoh berkaliber yang sentiasa sayangkan bangsa dan negaranya. Pengerusi Exxonmobil Malaysia, Rob Fisher pula melihat Allahyarham sebagai seorang yang memiliki integriti, bermaruah dan bijak, manakala Pengerusi Shell Malaysia, John Chadwick menggambarkannya sebagai rakyat Malaysia istimewa yang memberi sumbangan tidak terhingga kepada negara. Kebanyakan daripada kita mengenalinya sebagai Pengerusi Petronas, Penerbangan Malaysia (MAS) dan Putrajaya Holdings. Tetapi beliau sebenarnya memegang banyak lagi jawatan tinggi dalam kerajaan, sedia menerima tugas daripada Kerajaan yang mengiktirafnya sebagai seorang yang kuat bekerja, terhormat dan mulia. Pada usia 69 tahun, beliau menjadi pengerusi hampir sedozen syarikat berkaitan kerajaan (GLC) dan ketika diminta menjadi ahli kepada Suruhanjaya Khas Penambahbaikan Perjalanan dan Pengurusan Polis, awal tahun ini, beliau menerimanya tanpa rungutan. Kebanyakan orang dalam lingkungan penjawat tertinggi Kerajaan dan industri serta mereka yang mempunyai peluang untuk bekerja dengannya mengetahui siapa Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin. Beliau kekal sebagai pegawai kerajaan yang tidak dikenali kepada sebahagian besar warga negara Malaysia. Barangkali, perwatakan beliau dapat dijelaskan melalui gambaran ringkas dan padat bekas wartawan, Tan Sri Noordin Sopiee terhadap Allahyarham. Nordin berkata; "Ada orang perlu diukur kepada sumbangannya; sesetengahnya pula pada peribadinya, tetapi Azizan perlu diukur dengan kedua-duanya.
    [Show full text]
  • Petronas Office Towers
    2Q6LWH5HYLHZ5HSRUW 0$/ E\*DODO$EDGD 3HWURQDV2I¿FH7RZHUV .XDOD/XPSXU0DOD\VLD $UFKLWHFW &HVDU3HOOLDQG$VVRFLDWHV &OLHQW .XDOD/DPSXU&LW\&HQWUH+ROGLQJ6GQ%KG 'HVLJQ &RPSOHWHG Petronas Towers Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I. Introduction The Petronas Towers were designed to be the centrepiece of a larger complex called the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), a mixed-use development with a site area of 14.15 acres, which includes the towers, two other office towers, underground parking and service facilities. The project site is well located in the heart of the commercial district of the city, the ‘Golden Triangle’. Each of the twin towers is eighty-eight storeys high and contains 218,000 square metres of floor space. Rising 452 metres, the towers were certified the world’s tallest buildings by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in 1996. The two towers are connected by a sky bridge at the forty-first and forty-second floors – the sky lobby levels – to facilitate inter-tower communication and traffic. A multi-storey shopping and entertainment galleria connects the office towers at their bases, integrating the entire complex. Other public functions within the complex include the Petroleum Discovery Centre, an art gallery, an 865- seat concert hall and a multimedia conference centre. II. Contextual Information A. Historical background In early 1981 the Malaysian Government decided to move the Selangor Turf Club and its horse-racing track from the heart of the city to the periphery and to redevelop the site to meet the demands of urban and economic growth. The site, occupying 100 acres of land in a burgeoning economic catchment area with access to the city‘s main ring road, offered an ideal location for the development of a new city centre that would reinforce Kuala Lumpur‘s emerging status as an international city in the twenty-first century.
    [Show full text]
  • Praxis SE-0707.Indd
    CONTENTS 26 EDITOR’S NOTE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE PRESS RELEASES FROM THE BAR FEATURES/ARTICLES 23 Opening of the Legal Year 2015 26 The Offi ce of the President of the Malaysian Bar 36 Interview with Christopher Leong, 30th President of the Malaysian Bar 42 Citation for Dr Radhakrishna Ramani, Recipient of the Malaysian Bar Lifetime Achievement Award 2015 45 Dr Radhakrishna Ramani: A Lifetime of Achievement EVENTS 55 69th Annual General Meeting of the Malaysian Bar, Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel (14 Mar 2015) 58 Malaysian Bar Annual Dinner and Dance 2015 (14 Mar 2015) 36 60 LEXPO Rocks Dataran Undergrnd (28 Feb 2015) 63 46th Malaysia/Singapore Bench and Bar Games 2015, Singapore (30 Apr to 2 May 2015) LIFESTYLE 64 Netting the Ball CASE NOTES — HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FEDERAL COURT STATE BAR NEWS ELEVATION OF JUDGES NEWS 45 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT BAR UPDATES/NOTICES 85 New Admissions to the Malaysian Bar 88 List of Departed Members 88 Notice Regarding Bar Circulars and E-Blasts 89 Summary of Circulars 90 General Information on Matters Discussed at Bar Council Meetings 90 List Of Struck Off Members Wherein Appeal/Reinstatement Allowed 91 Notice Regarding Documents in Bar Council's Custody: Legal Firms in which Bar Council has Intervened 91 Library Update 70 99 Disciplinary Orders JAN-JUN 2015 | PRAXIS 1 COVER STORY BAR COUNCIL MALAYSIA Bar Council 15 Leboh Pasar Besar 50050 Kuala Lumpur Tel No: (603) 2050 2050 Fax No: (603) 2026 1313 / (603) 2034 2825 / (603) 2072 5818 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.malaysianbar.org.my
    [Show full text]
  • Azizan, Man of Character, Calibre (NST 18/07/2004)
    18/07/2004 Azizan, man of character, calibre By Kalimullah Hassan WHO was Azizan Zainul Abidin that king and prime minister, highest executive and low-salaried worker turned up in thousands to pay their last respects to when he died Wednesday? He was seen differently by different people. Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop saw him as "the quintessential public servant of the highest rank." Nor Mohamed's Cabinet colleague Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein said Azizan was "a man of calibre who loved his race and nation". Exxonmobil Malaysia chairman Rob Fisher found him "a man of integrity, honour and wisdom". And Shell Malaysia chairman Jon Chadwick describes him as "a special Malaysian who has contributed so much to his country". Most of us knew him as the chairman of Petronas, Malaysia Airlines and Putrajaya Holdings. But he wore many other public service hats, accepting every call to service from a Government which recognised him as a hardworking, honourable and decent man. He was 69, overseeing, as chairman, almost a dozen government-linked companies, and yet, when asked to become a member of the Royal Commission on the Police Force earlier this year, he accepted without a murmur. Yet, while those in the highest circles of Government and industry and those who have had the privilege of working with him knew who Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin was, he remained a faceless public servant to the larger Malaysian citizenry. Perhaps, former journalist Tan Sri Noordin Sopiee's description of the man is one of the more succinct. Noordin said: "Some men must be measured by the scale of their contribution; some by the content of their character.
    [Show full text]
  • Perpaduan Penting Semua Bangsa Bersatu, Negara Membangun
    SUKMA: Sasar 16 - 30 SEPTEMBER, 2018 Temasya APMG 1 36 emas bermula MS 3, 22 & 23 MS 7 SEPTEMBER 16-30, 2018 Perpaduan penting semua bangsa bersatu, negara membangun HARI Kebangsaan yang disambut 31 Ogos lalu menjadi medan penyatuan rakyat Malaysia dalam menzahirkan semangat patriotisme dan kepentingan perpaduan dalam kalangan rakyat berbilang bangsa demi kesejahteraan negara. Slogan 'Sayangi Malaysiaku' bagi sambutan Hari Kemerdekaan tahun ini amat menarik, ia mengajak seluruh rakyat mengekalkan kestabilan dan kemakmuran yang sudah dinikmati bersama, khususnya sejak negara mencapai kemerdekaan lebih enam dekad lalu. Wartawan Buletin Mutiara, NORSHAHIDA YUSOFF sempat menemubual segenap lapisan masyarakat berbilang bangsa bagi menelusuri dengan lebih dekat erti sebenar kemerdekaan kepada mereka. Bagi ABDUL AZIZ ABDULLAH, 66, beliau masih ingat suasana selepas merdeka iaitu sekitar tahun 60-an yang mana ketika itu beliau masih di sekolah rendah. Menurutnya, kanak-kanak dan orang kampung ketika itu begitu bersemangat setiap kali tiba bulan kemerdekaan dengan mendirikan pintu gerbang masuk ke kampung di Seberang Perai. SEMANGAT generasi pelapis negara pada Sambutan Hari Kebangsaan Ke-61 Peringkat Negeri Pulau Pinang di “Kami dulu di kampung ada satu pintu gerbang besar Padang Kota Lama baru-baru ini. (Gambar: AHMAD ADIL MUHAMAD). yang kami buat sendiri gunakan buluh...bulan merdeka saja kami akan hias pintu gerbang ni bagi meriah dengan pasang Ini kerana, ibu dan bapa beliau telah mendidik dari kecil HALIM, 5, dari Tadika Kemas Tanjung Tokong ternyata lampu-lampu dan simbol huruf 'M' menandakan merdeka. bahawa tarikh tersebut merupakan tarikh keramat Hari gembira apabila dapat menyertai perarakan merdeka bersama “Suasana dulu semua kaum bercampur tak kira Melayu, Kemerdekaan negara dan semangat itu yang dibawanya rakan-rakan sambil memperagakan pakaian bertemakan Cina, India...kalau dulu waktu main bola di padang, boleh hingga dewasa.
    [Show full text]
  • Pena Ketua Pengarang
    1 PENA KETUA PENGARANG “Selaku penyambung warisan, harus memainkan karakter sebagai pembela nusa dan bangsa dengan terus berjuang, terus bekorban dan terus berusaha mengekalkan apa yang dikecapi kini” lhamdulillah merafak kesyukuran kepada Yang Maha Esa di atas nikmat kesihatan yang baik seraya rezeki yang dilimpah- Akan kepada kita dalam menongkah arus perjalanan kehidupan dalam mencari keredhaanNya. Sebagaimana telah kita sedia maklum, dalam tempoh ini pelbagai hari peristiwa yang mencalit tentang pergorbanan telah kita raikan seperti Hari Raya Aidil Adha, Hari Kemerdekaan, Hari Pahlawan, Hari Penubuhan Malaysia dan tidak dilupakan juga Hari Angkatan Tentera Malaysia. Hatta, bersempena dengan peristiwa-peristiwa tersebut, terpalit diri untuk menyampaikan serta memperingatkan akan semangat perjuangan yang harus terus dipupuk dalam jiwa selaku warganegara juga sebagai anggota badan beruniform. Keamanan dan keharmonian yang dikecapi kini umum diketahui adalah hasil keperihan dan pengorbanan insan-insan terdahulu, selayaknya digelar pejuang, bermati-matian dalam usaha untuk mengembalikan kedaulatan Tanah Melayu pada suatu ketika dahulu. Semangat kepahlawanan serta keberanian jelas terpampang di setiap bait tuturcara, tingkah laku serta pemikiran setiap individu dengan tujuan yang satu iaitu demi mengembalikan senyuman serta gelak tawa pada generasi mendatang. Oleh hal yang sedemikian, pengorbanan pejuang-pejuang ter- dahulu janganlah dipersia begitu sahaja. Usai sudah peranan mer- eka dan kini kita selaku penyambung warisan, harus memainkan karakter sebagai pembela nusa dan bangsa dengan terus berjuang, terus bekorban dan terus berusaha mengekalkan apa yang dikecapi kini. Benar, ada mungkin kita tidak punyai kekentalan seumpama Lt Adnan, tidak punyai keberanian seumpama Kapt Hassan serta tidak segagah pejuang-pejuang lagenda pada masa dahulu. Namun, tidak mustahil untuk kita miliki semua itu sekiranya semangat pengor- banan telah kita pupuk dan pujuk dalam jiwa ini dari masa ke semasa.
    [Show full text]
  • ANNUAL REPORT 2011 Annual Report 2011 1 April 2010 – 31 December 2011 Concept Rationale
    ANNUAL REPORT 2011 Annual Report 2011 1 April 2010 – 31 December 2011 Concept Rationale Waves of Transformation Transformation is indicated by the strokes of wave in various colours, forms and features. As with the ocean, waves could gradually metamorphose from small and rolling to huge and daunting. For the University, the transformation indicates huge and dramatic changes on how it fundamentally thinks, drives and operates and how it steadily rises to become more impactful and meaningful to the community it serves. Contents Corporate Profile The Report 3 Vision and Mission 32 Chairman’s Review 3 University Profile 36 Vice Chancellor’s Report 4 Logo Rationale The Annual Review The University Team 44 Main Events 6 Chancellor 72 Academic Overview 8 Pro Chancellor 74 Research & Development 9 Vice Chancellor 85 Student Achievements and Activities 10 Board of Directors 13 Management Committee 17 Senate 23 Academic Advisory Council 25 Industry Advisory Panel 27 International External Examiners 29 Research Advisory Council UTP ANNUAL REPORT 2011 ANNUAL REPORT UTP 1 Corporate Profile UTP ANNUAL REPORT 2011 ANNUAL REPORT UTP 2 Vision & Mission University Profile Vision Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) was established on 10 January 1997, when PETRONAS was invited by the To be a leader in Technology Education and Centre Malaysian Government to set up a university. for Creativity and Innovation. The campus is built on a 400 hectare (1,000 acre) site Mission strategically located at Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia. The University is a wholly-owned sub- • UTP is an institute of higher learning. We provide sidiary of PETRONAS, the national oil company of Malaysia.
    [Show full text]
  • Layout JGP Mei 2016
    Vol.7No.2 May 2016 The Politics of Technocracy in Malaysia (1957-2012) 208 JASON SEONG WEI LOH Postgraduate & Research Centre (PGRC), KDU University College, Malaysia. Email: [email protected] Received 5 march 2016 ABSTRACT Revised 30 March 2016 Malaysia’s technocracy (administrative elite) and the government of the day (po- Accepted 6 April 2016 DOI: 10.18196/jgp.2016.0028 litical elite) have had and continue to enjoy a harmonious and symbiotic relation- ship. Such synergy had its origins and background in British colonial rule when promising Malays were groomed for administrative positions. The dawn of merdeka (national independence) allowed for the transition from administrative positions to political leadership. The first three prime ministers, namely Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak and Hussein Onn were drawn from these ranks. There was an organic development in the relationship between the ‘old’ techno- crats and politicians expressed inshared strategic outlook and direction. As such, national development was characterised not by intermittent periods of political disruption but a sustained period of continuity in the pre-conditions for eco- nomic growth which extended and heightened throughout the premiership of Mahathir Mohamad. His successor, Abdullah Badawi, started to install corporate figures as technocrats to professionalise the governance of the administrative system. Under Najib Razak the role of these ‘new’ technocrats was further en- trenchedandenhanced. Keywords: Technocracy; economic management; developmental politics; Najibnomics INTRODUCTION The term, ‘technocracy’, is normally employed to refer to the concept of ‘expert knowledge’ that is the provenance of a ‘select’ few in the administrative system of a country (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Petronas: a National Oil Company with an International Vision
    THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RICE UNIVERSITY PETRONAS: A NATIONAL OIL COMPANY WITH AN INTERNATIONAL VISION BY DR. FRED R. VON DER MEHDEN RICE UNIVERSITY WITH AL TRONER ASIA PACIFIC ENERGY CONSULTING PREPARED IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN ENERGY STUDY SPONSORED BY THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND JAPAN PETROLEUM ENERGY CENTER RICE UNIVERSITY – MARCH 2007 THIS PAPER WAS WRITTEN BY A RESEARCHER (OR RESEARCHERS) WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE JOINT BAKER INSTITUTE/JAPAN PETROLEUM ENERGY CENTER POLICY REPORT, THE CHANGING ROLE OF NATIONAL OIL COMPANIES IN INTERNATIONAL ENERGY MARKETS. WHEREVER FEASIBLE, THIS PAPER HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY OUTSIDE EXPERTS BEFORE RELEASE. HOWEVER, THE RESEARCH AND THE VIEWS EXPRESSED WITHIN ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHER(S) AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY NOR THOSE OF THE JAPAN PETROLEUM ENERGY CENTER. © 2007 BY THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY OF RICE UNIVERSITY THIS MATERIAL MAY BE QUOTED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION, PROVIDED APPROPRIATE CREDIT IS GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR AND THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY ABOUT THE POLICY REPORT THE CHANGING ROLE OF NATIONAL OIL COMPANIES IN INTERNATIONAL ENERGY MARKETS Of world proven oil reserves of 1,148 billion barrels, approximately 77% of these resources are under the control of national oil companies (NOCs) with no equity participation by foreign, international oil companies. The Western international oil companies now control less than 10% of the world’s oil and gas resource base. In terms of current world oil production, NOCs also dominate.
    [Show full text]
  • Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang Dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 2010
    SENARAI PENUH PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT PERSEKUTUAN TAHUN 2010 Seri Setia Mahkota Malaysia (S.S.M.) SWASTA/ PERSATUAN/ SUKARELA/ SUKAN 1. Allahyarham Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin, Bekas Presiden Perbadanan Putrajaya. Panglima Mangku Negara (P.M.N.) PEGAWAI PERKHIDMATAN AWAM 1. YBhg. Tan Sri Ismail bin Adam, Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam, Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam. WARGANEGARA ASING (KEHORMAT) 2. YBhg. Tan Sri Yohei Sasakawa, Pengerusi, The Nippon Foundation. PERKHIDMATAN ANGKATAN TENTERA MALAYSIA 3. YBhg. Jen. Tan Sri Azizan bin Ariffin TUDM, Panglima Angkatan Tentera Malaysia. AHLI PERTUBUHAN POLITIK 4. YB Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Presiden Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Negeri Sabah. Panglima Setia Mahkota (P.S.M.) PEGAWAI PERKHIDMATAN AWAM 1. YA Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen, Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan Malaysia. 2. YA Tan Sri Haji Mohd Ghazali bin Mohd Yusoff, Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan Malaysia. 3. YBhg. Tan Sri Dr. Zulkefli bin A. Hassan, Ketua Setiausaha, Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi. 4. YA Tan Sri Zulkefli bin Ahmad Makinudin, Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan Malaysia. PIHAK BERKUASA TEMPATAN/ BADAN BERKANUN 5. YBhg. Tan Sri Abdul Shukor bin Abdullah, Pro-Canselor, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). 6. YBhg. Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Abdul Shukor bin Hj. Husin, Pengarah Institut Pengurusan & Penyelidikan Fatwa Sedunia (INFAD), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). 7. YBhg. Tan Sri Andrew Sheng Len Tao, Penasihat Majlis Penasihat Ekonomi Malaysia. 8. YBhg. Tan Sri Hasmah binti Abdullah, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif/ Ketua Pengarah, Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri. 9. YBhg. Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Nik Mustapha bin R. Abdullah, Naib Canselor, Universiti Putra Malaysia. SWASTA/ PERSATUAN/ SUKARELA/ SUKAN 10. YBhg. Tan Sri Cecil Wilbert Mohanaraj Abraham, Penimbangtara/ Peguambela, Zul Rafique Associates.
    [Show full text]
  • Technocracy in Economic Policy-Making in Malaysia
    Kyoto University Technocracy in Economic Policy-Making in Malaysia Khadijah Md Khalid* and Mahani Zainal Abidin** This article looks at the role of the technocracy in economic policy-making in Malay- sia. The analysis was conducted across two phases, namely the period before and after the 1997/98 economic and financial crises, and during the premiership of four prime ministers namely Tun Razak, Dr Mahathir, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and Najib Razak. It is claimed that the technocrats played an important role in helping the political leadership achieve their objectives. The article traces the changing fortunes of the technocracy from the 1970s to the present. Under the premiership of Tun Razak, technocrats played an important role in ensuring the success of his programs. However, under Dr Mahathir, the technocrats sometimes took a back seat because their approach was not in line with some of his more visionary ventures and his unconventional approach particularly in managing the 1997/98 financial crisis. Under the leadership of both Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak, the technocrats regain their previous position of prominence in policy-making. In conclusion, the technocracy with their expert knowledge, have served as an important force in Malaysia. Although their approach is based on economic rationality, their skills have been effectively negotiated with the demands of the political leadership, because of which Malaysia is able to maintain both economic growth and political stability. Keywords: technocracy, the New Economic Policy (NEP), Tun Abdul Razak, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, National Economic Action Council (NEAC), government-linked companies (GLCs), Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Tun Razak Introduction Malaysia is a resource rich economy that had achieved high economic growth since early 1970s until the outbreak of the Asian crisis in 1998.
    [Show full text]