Malaysia Malaysia is an advanced, upper middle income country poised to achieve developed-nation status as early as 2020. With a commitment that began in 1954, The Asia Foundation today continues to support Malaysia’s development. The Foundation works with government, civil-society, and private-sector part- ners to promote political and economic reform, encourage youth engagement, and foster dialogue on the key development issues facing contemporary Malaysia, including state-society relations, governance and accountability, international development cooperation, and achieving inclusive economic development.

RESISTING CRIME AND EXTREMISM BY By raising community awareness of basic rights, BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES understanding the modus operandi of violent criminals, and sensitizing law enforcement to local Asia Foundation programs in Malaysia work to values and norms, the program seeks to develop strengthen state-society relations by promoting a community-based security network with shared citizen engagement in governance reform. In the mitigation strategies that will strengthen trust and East Malaysian state of Sabah, in the sensitive, cooperation between law enforcement and vulner- tri-border region of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the MALAYSIA able villages, empowering whole communities to Philippines, isolated villages with limited security prevent crime and violence and safeguard their way resources offer attractive entry points for smug- The Asia Foundation of life. glers, human traffickers, and armed, nonstate has had programs in actors who take refuge in locations that are notori- Malaysia since 1954 In Peninsular Malaysia, the recent emergence of and a permanent ously inaccessible to police. While the government violent, extremist ideologies calls for innovative office since 1957. of Malaysia has been active in addressing border thinking to grapple with their subliminal appeal. security, these efforts have focused on improving Because cultural dislocation and alienation are The Foundation’s the capabilities of law enforcement and have not proven catalysts of extremism, a new Foundation Books for Asia fully engaged local communities. initiative seeks to integrate cultural programs with program has distributed over national security policy, summoning the power The Asia Foundation is working with the PACOS 2.7 million books of traditional art forms to address the root causes Trust, a community organization supporting in- to Malaysian of violent extremism. With its partner Pusaka, an schools, libraries, digenous communities in Sabah, to forge relation- NGO dedicated to the traditional Malaysian and other ships between local law enforcement, community preforming arts, The Asia Foundation is working institutions since leaders, and youth that will complement the Malaysian inde- to help marginalized youth reconnect to their government’s efforts to tackle these security threats. pendence in 1957. cultural heritage through the practice and con- employees also face strong gender bias among The Asia Foundation servation of the traditional arts, including the employers, and sexual harassment, with one study is a nonprofit international creation of a comprehensive audio, visual, and reporting that 20 percent of women experienced development organization written archive of the stories, performances, and threats or verbal harassment on the job. Women committed to improving pedagogy of the tradition. in manufacturing suffer a 25 percent pay gap, and lives across a dynamic tend to hold lower-wage and lower-skilled jobs and developing Asia. CREATING CHANGE THROUGH FINANCIAL than men. Headquartered in San LITERACY AND SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT Francisco, The Asia In partnership with the National Association As Malaysia stands at the brink of developed-nation Foundation works through of Women Entrepreneurs Malaysia and the status, it must provide the next generation with a network of offices in 18 human rights organization Tenaganita, and in the essential skills to participate effectively in their Asian countries and in close consultation with the Ministry of Human nation’s development. The Asia Foundation works Resources, The Asia Foundation is working to Washington, DC. Working with local partners to train young Malaysians, age increase women’s labor-force participation, by with public and private 15-17, in financial literacy. The program, which promoting internationally recognized, gender- partners, the Foundation combines financial education with social empower- related labor rights and domestic labor laws, and receives funding from a ment, has 150 qualified trainers and has reached building the capacity of trade unions and women’s diverse group of more than 5,000 young men and women from organizations to support decent work for women. bilateral and multilateral 100 public schools in Malaysia. Participants have The Foundation educates workers and employers improved their social awareness, while acquiring development agencies, about gender-related labor laws, strengthens the essential skills like budgeting and saving. foundations, corporations, support mechanisms for workers to exercise their and individuals. legal rights, promotes leadership opportunities In a related initiative, Foundation offices in for women, and contributes to the dialogue on Malaysia and Thailand launched a program to gender-related legal reforms. build entrepreneurship among young women in the conflict-affected region of the Thai-Malay BOOKS FOR ASIA border. The program focused on women whose economic prospects are threatened by the subna- The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program in tional conflict environment. The training module Malaysia targets underserved and rural commu- was designed to teach strategic business skills to nities, distributiong 52,615 books to more than new and existing entrepreneurs, increasing their 1,000 public schools, universities, and libraries in self-reliance by providing them with the knowl- Peninsular and East Malaysia in 2016. New stra- edge and resilience to raise their incomes without tegic partnerships with the Sarawak Foundation depending on loans. Forty-three young women and the University of Malaya, on top of its exist- entrepreneurs participated in the program, which ing partnership with the PACOS Trust in Sabah, included a three-day, intensive training in strategic expanded the program’s reach in 2015, enabling entrepreneurship followed by in-person mentoring dedicated, annual book shipments to the states over a two-month period. of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, as well as Peninsular Malaysia. Books for Asia has distrib- HEADQUARTERS 465 California Street, PROMOTING GENDER-RELATED LABOR uted over 2.7 million books in Malaysia since its 9th Floor independence in 1957. San Francisco, CA 94104 USA REFORMS Tel: (415) 982-4640 Fax: (415) 392-8863 Despite recent gains, the rate of female participa- [email protected] tion in Malaysia’s labor force remains the lowest WASHINGTON, DC 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW in Southeast Asia, reaching just 54.1 percent in Suite 815 2015. This is well below neighboring Thailand (64 Washington, D.C. 20036 USA Tel: (202) 588-9420 percent), Cambodia (79 percent), and Vietnam Fax: (202) 588-9409 (70 percent), and is largely due to rigid policies [email protected] such as inflexible work arrangements, lack of MALAYSIA Suite 13.05 Level 13 family-friendly facilities, a culture of working late The Gardens South Tower Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra into the evening, and the obstacles women must Kuala Lumpur, 59200, Malaysia overcome to return to the workforce if they leave Tel: (603) 2282 0385 [email protected] their job due to family commitments. Women www.asiafoundation.org

02/17