Seminar: Black Swans in Malaysian Politics

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

Black Swans in Malaysian Politics

About the Seminar

Will Prime Minister Najib Razak win the upcoming Malaysian general election, ensuring an uninterrupted Barisan Nasional’s 60-year rule since Independence? Or will the election expected later this year be a black swan jolt for the ruling coalition?

Since the last general election in May 2013, Najib’s standing has taken a beating as a result of multiple financial scandals and unpopular economic decisions such as the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), and cuts in subsidies to essential items. While Najib’s vulnerability may have been obvious, the Opposition has also had a hard time, suffering major splits and realignments.

Ever since the political tsunami in 2008 and especially after the 2013 election, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has been pursuing a Malay-centric strategy, including forming a de facto relationship with its erstwhile arch-rival the Islamist party Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), to appeal to the insecurity and fears of the Malay majority.

The current political twist for Malaysia is that the discontent among Malays is at its highest since Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking in September 1998, and the man who sacked Anwar, former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad, is playing a major role in this scenario, as one of the Opposition’s leaders.

Johor, where the speaker represents the parliamentary constituency of Kluang, will be a major electoral battleground in the months to come.

About the Speaker

Liew Chin Tong was elected Member of the Parliament for Kluang in May 2013. He was previously the Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera (2008-2013). Since 1999, Chin Tong has served DAP in various capacities and is now a Member of its Central Executive Committee, and the party’s Political Education Director. He graduated with a degree in Political Science and an honours degree in Asian Studies from the Australian National University, and holds an International Masters in Regional Integration from the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya.

He was the Executive Director of Penang Institute (previously Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute, SERI, 2009-2012) and Research for Social Advancement (REFSA, 2007-2011), and was formerly a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 12 April 2017.

 

Seminar: Malaysia’s Religious Interaction with Saudi Arabia

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

Religious interaction is one of the significant elements in Malaysia-Saudi Arabia relations. There are two important features in Malaysia’s religious interaction with Saudi Arabia. The first feature is on the implementation of Islamic teachings, Islamic jurisprudence in particular, for both countries. Malaysia is traditionally associated with the teaching of the Shafiite school from as early as the 15th century, whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia largely practices the Hanbalite-Wahhabism school.  In religiously interacting with Saudi Arabia, Malaysia is certainly dealing with the Kingdom’s Wahhabism ideology which arguably inspired some Islamic movements during the 19th and early 20th centuries ago in the Malay Archipelago. Malaysia, however, to this date, is less receptive of the Wahhabism ideology due to the dominance of the Shafiite school, the government’s ‘guarded’ religious policies and the own-styled of local da’wah movements which differ with Wahhabism approaches. The second feature is, despite differences in the implementation of Islamic teachings, Malaysia has received a number of capital donations from the Kingdom to financially assist the development of socio-economic projects and religious activities. Until today, the interaction between the two countries has been steadily growing stronger and more collaborative projects have been launched to enhance the scope of their bilateral relations in the future.

About the Speaker

Associate Professor Dr Asmady Idris is an International Relations lecturer at University Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Malaysia. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Dr Idris has published numerous articles on the Middle East-Asia Pacific relations, such as  “Impact of Mutual Interaction between Civil Society and Conditionality by an External Actor on Democratization: Cases of Turkey and Malaysia (co-authored with Irem Askar Karakir, 2016)”, Malaysia’s Contemporary Political and Economic Relations with Iran (co-authored with Remali Yusoff, 2015), “Malaysian
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Humanitarian Issues in Gaza, Palestine (2012), “Early Development of Malaysia’s Relations With Saudi Arabia (2003)”, and others. His latest book is Malaysia’s Relations with Saudi Arabia, 1957-2003, published by University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Press in 2015.

Registration

To register, please fill in this form and email it to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 29 March 2017.

 

Seminar: PRC Investment in Malaysia

 

REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME AND MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

While Singapore, the US, and Japan have traditionally been Malaysia’s main trading partners, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been the country’s most important trading partner since 2012. Beyond trade in finished products, commerce between the two countries is based on inputs and parts being sent within production networks operating between the two countries. This same trend is visible in investment flows. From a minor investor, China has now become a significant player in the Malaysian economy, investing RM 11.6 billion in manufacturing projects in 2012-15 – behind only Japan, Singapore and the United States.

Beyond setting up manufacturing operations, Chinese government-linked corporations and private consortiums have been active in the real estate sector. Government-linked corporations have stakes in the Malaysia-Kuantan Industrial Park as well as Bandar Malaysia, which will be the main terminus of the planned High Speed Rail. Large-scale private sector concerns such as Country Garden, R&F, and Greenland have a significant presence in Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur.

With regard to infrastructure, government-linked corporations have won contracts for the RM 55 bn East Coast Rail Link, the RM 9 bn Gemas-Johor Bahru dual tracking project, as well as provisions of rolling stock. A consortium of government-linked corporations is positioning itself for the High-Speed Rail project, slated to go to tender later this year. There are also large-scale port projects being planned with PRC involvement, two on the Peninsula’s west coast and another on the east coast.

Looking forward, the PRC presence in the Malaysian economy looks set to increase. In December last year, Prime Minister Najib returned from his visit to China, where he and his counterparts signed 14 agreements totaling RM 144 billion, which represents 12 percent of Malaysia’s GDP. However, this trend has not gone unnoticed by Malaysia’s electorate, with polls indicating a growing sense of unease at the rapid increase in PRC presence in the economy as well as foreign ownership of strategic assets.

This seminar will analyze the trends in PRC investment into Malaysia, particularly in the real estate and construction sectors, as well as key aspects of infrastructure such as railways and ports. From there it will examine trends in public opinion regarding the level and different types of PRC investments in the country.

About the Speakers

Topic: PRC Investment in the Real Estate and Construction Sectors in Malaysia

Loong Chee Wei joined Affin Hwang Capital in April 2015 as the Senior Associate Director covering the construction/infrastructure, property and building material sector. He has been covering Malaysian equities since 1997 (including strategy, banking, construction/infrastructure, property, gaming, oil & gas), and formerly worked for CLSA, Nomura, BNP Paribas, AmInvestment Bank and Hwang-DBS Securities. Mr Loong has been a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst since 1999.

 

Topic: PRC Investment in the Rail and Port Sectors in Malaysia

G Naidu was, prior to his retirement, a professor in transport economics at the University of Malaya and is currently an independent consultant.  His main areas of interest have been in transport, logistics and infrastructure.  He has worked as a consultant for the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Ministry of Transport and number Malaysian port authorities.  He recently served as a subject matter expert for the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC).

 

Topic: Evolving Public Opinion Regarding PRC Investment in Malaysia

Ibrahim Suffian is Co-founder and Program Director of Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, a leading public opinion polling and political surveys organization in Malaysia. He presently manages Merdeka Center’s portfolio of clients ranging from political parties, government departments as well as local and international institutions of higher learning. Through Merdeka Center,
Mr Suffian has been organizing surveys in Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore and Myanmar. Prior to his role in the Merdeka Center,
Mr Suffian worked as a project finance specialist in a Malaysian investment bank and was project manager in an international development agency.

Registration

To register, please fill in this form and email it to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 17 March 2017.

 

Seminar-Cum-Book Launch: “Thaipusam in Malaysia: A Hindu Festival in the Tamil Diaspora”

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME


About the Book

Recent census statistics indicate that ethnic Indians comprise a mere 7.4 per cent of Malaysia’s total population, with Hindus constituting a 84.1 per cent of that figure. However, the Hindu festival of Thaipusam at Batu Caves outside Kuala Lumpur has become the largest single gathering of any religious festival in Malaysia, and is believed to be the most significant Hindu festival to be held outside India.

Thaipusam has attracted the attention of a number of scholars, but with notable exceptions, most observers of this festival have viewed Thaipusam in Malaysia as a sui generis, and have tended to regard the more dramatic and allegedly confrontational elements of the festival as a cultural aberration. Failure to contextualise Thaipusam in terms of the wider Tamil diaspora or to closely examine the inner dynamics of this complex festival in terms of Tamil Hindu traditions have often resulted in interpretations which are both misleading and/or skewed.

This approach will examine Thaipusam in terms of long established cultural and religious traditions, in the particular those of divine kingship and the rituals of Hindu pilgrimage. it will argue that far from being a merely Malaysian phenomenon, Thaipusam is a feature of the wider Tamil diaspora, and is constructed from condensed coded or Tamil history and culture. However, within the Malaysian context, Thaipusam is not only a continuing political and social assertion of Hindu identity, but as a festival sends a variety of signals, some agonistic, to a range of audiences both within Malaysia and beyond.

 

About the Author & Speaker

Carl Vadivella Belle obtained a BA at the Australian National University, Canberra, and a PhD at Deakin University in 2004.  Between 1976 and 1979 served in the Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur.  He has maintained a long term interest in Malaysian social, political, religious and political issues, especially Hinduism in Malaysia and the histories and traditions of Malaysia’s Indian community. He has also acted as principal consultant to several television and radio productions focusing on the festival of Thaipusam as it is practiced at Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur.  Dr Belle was appointed Inaugural Hindu Chaplain at the Flinders University of South Australia in 2005.  He has lectured extensively on both Malaysian politics and society, and on south Indian Hindu traditions, as well as wider religious issues, and has published numerous papers on these topics.  His most recent work, Tragic Orphans: Indians in Malaysia, published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, constitutes a comprehensive general history of the modern Indian presence in Malaysia.

Registration

To register, please fill in this form and email it to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 28 February 2017.

 

Seminar: UMNO: Neither Yesterday, Nor Tomorrow

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

UMNO today is very different from what it was before, and is not suited for the future. In the past, the party’s grassroot leaders were ordinary folks and Malay teachers who were very committed and call themselves ‘Orang UMNO’ (UMNO people) rather than ‘Ahli UMNO’ (UMNO members). Today, they are replaced by businessmen, staff of the Ministry of Rural Development and people looking for opportunities. Volunteerism in UMNO has declined while patronage or money politics, which emerged in 1980s, has deepened further. The 1MDB scandal shows how money politics has corrupted the party to the core. The scandal has badly hurt UMNO and the whole country in terms of leadership, corruption, freedom, rule of law and the economy. The original UMNO is ‘UMNO Berjuang’ (the fighting UMNO). Today, it is ‘UMNO Berwang’ (UMNO with money).

But, why is UMNO (and BN) still in power? Because of four major factors, i.e. unfair election system (e.g. malapportionment and gerrymandering), politics of race (plus religion), patronage and culture of fear. Can these four factors continue to help UMNO/BN win the 14th General Election (GE)? How have the various financial scandals and intra-party conflict in UMNO affected the young, middle class and urban Malays’ support? Will the Felda Global Ventures’ scandal erode UMNO’s staunch support from the Felda settlers? After denying UMNO/BN the two third majority in Parliament in the 12th General Election (GE) in 2008 and 13th GE in 2013, and UMNO/BN lost the popular vote in the 13th GE, can Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) win the 14th GE expected to be held in 2017?

About the Speaker

Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah is Chief Secretary of Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) – Malaysia’s biggest opposition coalition, and Director (Strategic and Social Development) of Institut Darul Ehsan. Previously, he was Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Member of Parliament for Temerloh and Member of UMNO Supreme Council. In October 2015, he left UMNO, mainly because of the 1MDB scandal, to join Keadilan.

He is a progressive politician who advocates the idea of New Politics, youth empowerment and social economy. When he was Deputy Minister of Higher Education, he re-launched the Speakers Corner and amended the University and University College Act to allow students to be actively involved in politics – both items banned since 1975; and was critical of the government’s suppressive ways on freedom, human rights and racism.

Before joining politics, Saifuddin was President of the Malaysian Youth Council, Member of the United Nations Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Youth Employment and a student activist. He has published seven books, including New Politics/Politik Baru (bi-lingual) (2008) and ASEAN Peoples’ Agenda (2015); and is columnist at Sinar Harian, The Edge Malaysia and Sin Chew Daily.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 27 February 2017.

 

Seminar: Malaysia: Islamisation, the Constitution and the Road Ahead

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

The original scheme of Malaysia’s Federal Constitution was to provide for constitutional supremacy in Article 4(1).  Islam was given an exalted position in Article 3(1) by declaring it to be the official religion of the Federation. However it was also provided in Article 3(4) that nothing in Article 3(1) derogates from any other provision of the Constitution. This meant that despite Islam’s special position, the shariah was not the litmus test of validity for any laws.

The Constitution divided powers over Islamic law between Federal and State authorities. The States were not given a monopoly over the whole field of Islamic law. The Constitution assigned legislative and administrative powers to the States on only some residual, enumerated areas of Islamic law, mostly of Islamic family law.  Shariah courts exercised jurisdiction only in areas permitted by the supreme Constitution. However since the 80s the States are enacting legislation in areas which are outside their jurisdiction. The federal government is a silent spectator. The courts are reluctant to strike down unconstitutional laws by the States. A constitutional amendment bars civil courts from interfering in any matter within the jurisdiction of the shariah courts.

The Constitution expressly forbade the subjection of non-Muslims to the jurisdiction of shariah authorities. But in the milieu of increasing “Islamisation”, some shariah authorities are emboldened to break free of this limitation. The superior, civil courts are increasingly reluctant to review the actions of shariah authorities or the constitutionality of laws made in the name of Islam. The imposition of power by the ecclesiastical authorities of one religion over the adherents of another religion is tearing society apart. Conflicts between civil and shariah courts over jurisdictional issues is leaving helpless people with no remedies. Inter-communal relations are frayed.

A silent rewriting of the Constitution is taking place. Article 3 (on Islam) and List II of the 9th Schedule (on state powers over Islam) have overridden constitutional supremacy, the chapter on fundamental rights and the federal-state division of powers. We seem to be heading towards a “one country two systems” model.

On another plane, the country is also moving steadily towards more and more religious authoritarianism in the disguise of Islamisation. The imposition of a very conservative, rigid, literal interpretation of the shariah is having an adverse impact on Muslim intellectuals. There are attempts to impose thought-control. Muslims cannot have a discourse on Islam without the written authority of a tauliah. Muslims cannot criticise a fatwa, and if they do that is a criminal offence! Electoral democracy is being undermined because unelected religious bureaucrats are issuing binding fatwas having the force of law. The fatwas are backed by criminal sanctions against anyone who challenges them. The Arabisation and Salafisation of Malay society is in progress.

Malaysia’s system of constitutional supremacy, electoral democracy, rule of law and separation of powers is under stress. At the political level, moderation, accommodation and inter-communal cooperation are under siege.


About the Speaker

Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is the holder of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair in law at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He is an Emeritus Professor at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam and an Adjunct Professor at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of New England, Australia. He has authored books in various fields including Media Law; Islam, Democracy and Development; and on Malaysia’s Federal Constitution. He is a columnist with Malaysia’s leading English daily, The Star.

Registration

To register, please fill in this form and email it to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 23 February 2017.

 

Seminar: Sabah and Sarawak: Perspectives on Federal-State Relationship, Identity and Current Issues

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

The Merdeka Center for Opinion Research recently conducted a survey in Sabah and Sarawak to assess public opinion on the performance of local leaders and of the state and federal governments, as well as potential election issues that concern them the most. These include the relationship between Putrajaya and Kuching/Kota Kinabalu as well as attitudes towards state autonomy, and question of Islamization and Islamic state. The choice of surveying voter sentiments in Sabah and Sarawak forms a critical component towards building a body of knowledge about the electorate there considering how the ruling Barisan Nasional has continuously relied upon voters’ there for support.

The relative weakness of the central government at Putrajaya has spurred political leadership in Sabah and Sarawak to push towards the devolution of power in their favour.

Interesting findings from the survey include: Sarawakians and Sabahans expressed mixed views about the direction the country is heading; Sarawakians were more satisfied with their state government and then chief minister, while Sabahans, on the other hand, held more split views on those institutions; most East Malaysians acknowledge that their respective states were better off being a part of Malaysia rather than without; a large majority of Sarawakians and Sabahans also report that they did not really understand the contents of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement or the 18 and 20 point terms set during the formation of the Malaysian Federation; and a plurality of East Malaysians held warm views towards Singapore although a sizable minority of one in five Sabahans held some negative feelings about the island state leaving the federation in 1965.

About the Speaker

Ibrahim Suffian is a co-founder and programs director of Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, a leading public opinion polling and political surveys organization in Malaysia. Besides undertaking research assignments, Ibrahim is actively involved in briefings for the diplomatic and the financial community about political developments in Malaysia. He presently manages Merdeka Center’s portfolio of clients ranging from political parties, government departments as well as local and international institutions of higher learning. Through Merdeka Center, Ibrahim has been involved in organizing surveys in Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore and Myanmar.

Prior to his role in Merdeka Center, Ibrahim worked as a project finance specialist in a Malaysian investment bank and a project manager in an international development agency.

Ibrahim received education from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and obtained an MBA from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. Ibrahim was a World Fellow at Yale University in 2011.

Registration

To register, please fill in this form and email it to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 7 February 2017.

 

Seminar: Malay Politics in Malaysia: Changing World and Way Forward

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

Malay power remains the predominant force in Malaysian politics. Ever since political independence in 1957, a majority of Malays have supported the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), a party that advocates what Abdullah Ahmad emphatically called ‘ketuanan Melayu’, Malay supremacy or Malay pre-eminence. The ketuanan Melayu ideology framed the New Economic Policy (NEP) and justified the implementation of race-based affirmative action policies and programmes to redress inequalities in the country.

But, the NEP’s success in reducing inter-ethnic inequalities while increasing the class differentiation of Malay society has revealed the contradictions and distortions of continuing the raced-based preferential policies. Rising intra-ethnic inequalities, especially among Malays, mean that a more inclusive approach is needed to redress the new inequalities in Malaysia.

More broadly, instead of UMNO’s ketuanan Melayu, Malay politics should adopt a diverse approach that recognizes and accepts multiculturalism and multi-ethnic interests. Political parties such as Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) uphold the need to move away from racial politics and embrace an inclusive, progressive approach.

About the Speaker

Dato’ Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa was born on 25 October 1964 in Georgetown, Penang, and educated at Penang Free School. He received a BA (Arabic language and literature) from Al-Azhar University, Egypt, and an MA (Human Resource Management) from Universiti Putra, Malaysia. In 2008, he was awarded a PhD (Political Science) by University Malaya.

Before entering politics, Dato’ Dr Mujahid worked as a lecturer at Multimedia University, Malacca. Currently, Dato’ Dr Mujahid is a Vice President of Parti Amanah Negara and the Member of Parliament for Parit Buntar, Perak. He was a member of the AIPA CAUCAS Committee at parliamentary level, and in 2011, Dato’ Dr Mujahid was elected as the Chairman of Southeast Asia Interfaith Dialogue for Peace. In 2013, he was appointed as a member of the Consultation Council for National Unity.

As a parliamentarian, he has participated in many seminars and represented Malaysia in many international conferences in the US, Niger, Krygystan, Morocco, Indonesia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, and so on. Dato’ Dr Mujahid is also an active writer and has published a few books including Rejuvenasi PAS, Menuju PAS Baru and and Berdialog Dengan Gereja.

Registration

To register, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by
11 November 2016.

 

Seminar: Malay Identity in Crisis?

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

Seminar-cum-Book Launch of the 2016 edition of Anthony Milner’s classic,
“Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of Colonial Rule”
(Petaling Jaya: SIRD, 2016/1982)

 

About the Seminar

Malay politics today frequently provokes surprise (and often criticism) – and yet tends to be discussed in an historical and cultural vacuum. History, when cited at all, usually begins in 1946 – when Malay nationalism took effective form in reaction to the threat posed by the British proposal for a Malayan Union. The term ‘nationalism’, however, fails to capture the different levels of Malay political experience – and the degree of ideological contest taking place in Malay society. What traditionally motivated Malay communities politically was the sense of being part of a ‘kerajaan’ – a kingdom focused sharply on personal allegiance to a ruler. Elements of the old political culture remain influential today, including in UMNO politics, and today’s Rulers – descendants of the pre-colonial rajas – continue to engage in political contest.

How can we best investigate Malay political thinking in earlier times? In what ways does the Malay political heritage help us to appreciate contemporary issues concerning Malay identity, politics and unity – or the lack thereof?

About the Book

“Kerajaan is a classic in Malaysian studies because of its theoretical and empirical elaboration of the state and content of traditional kerajaan Melayu – an elaboration based on hikayat Melayu and dealing with that period in history when European powers began to reshape Malay polities through the colonial ‘define and rule’ approach. For anyone who wants to begin to make sense of contemporary Malay politics, especially the role of the Malay royalties and their socio-historical roots, Milner’s Kerajaan is a must read.”

— Shamsul A.B. (Institute of Ethnic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; and member of ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s International Advisory Panel (from the foreword to the 2016 edition)

About the Author

Anthony Milner is Visiting Professor at the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya and Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. In 2014–2015 he was the Tun Hussein Onn Chair in International Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia; in 2002 he was Raffles Visiting Professor in the Department of History, NUS. As Basham Chair of Asian History at the Australian National University – apart from producing a series of publications on regional relations – he has written widely on Malay and Malaysian history. His books include The Invention of Politics in Colonial Malaya (1995, 2002), The Malays (2008, 2012) and (as co-author) Transforming Malaysia (2014).

About the Discussant

Sher Banu is Assistant Professor at the Malay Studies Department, National University of Singapore. Her research expertise is on the Malay world and Southeast Asia in general in the early modern period focusing on history, gender studies and Islam. She has published in numerous journals and chapters in books amongst which are “Ties that Unbind: the Botched Aceh-VOC Alliance for the conquest of Melaka 1640-1641”, Indonesia and the Malay World, vol. 38, no.111, July, 2010; “What Happened to Syaiful Rijal?” in Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde, April, 2011;  and “Men of Prowess and Women of Piety: The Rule of Sultanah Safiatuddin Syah of Aceh 1641-1675” in Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 44, no.2, June 2013. Her forthcoming book, Sovereign Women in a Muslim Kingdom: The Sultanahs of Aceh, 1641−1699, will be published by NUS Press in 2017.

Registration

To register, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 7 November 2016.

 

Seminar: Climbing the Ladder: Socio-economic Mobility in Malaysia

 

 MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

 

This paper investigates the existence and extent of inter-generational mobility in Malaysia, in terms of educational attainment, occupational skills level and income. We compare the status of working adults born between the years 1945-1960 and their adult children born in 1975-1985, using the linear inter-generational elasticity (IGE) model and non-linear transition matrix techniques.  We find that Malaysian society is fairly mobile with the earnings elasticity between parent and adult child relatively small, which implies children’s income is less associated with parental income. On average, while a majority of adult children have better educational attainment and occupational skill level compared to their parents, the educational mobility is lesser among the bottom 40% of the Indian community compared to the other major ethnic groups. Income mobility, in both absolute and relative terms, is the highest among children born to parents in the lowest income quintile. This shows that children born to the poorest parents do not generally stay poor as adult, and those born to rich parents do not necessarily stay rich as adults. However, there seems to be a glass ceiling for children born to middle-income parents as they have higher probability to slip down the ladder than to climb up. Our logistic regression model finds that education, assets ownership, gender and location matter for upward mobility. Moving forward, more emphasis should be placed on the growth of the middle class as they are more vulnerable to experience downward mobility, just as support for the pockets of poverty which still persist will have to be continued. Inclusive development approach is vital in enhancing socio-economic mobility in order to promote social cohesion, economic growth and greater equity for the next generation.

 

About the Speakers

 

Muhammed Abdul Khalid is currently a Director of Research at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). Prior to joining KRI, he was the Head of Economics at the Securities Commission Malaysia, and a senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. He obtained his PhD (first class honors) from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (SciencesPo) France. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Affairs (cum laude) from the same institution, as well as a Master of Economics from University of Malaya and Bachelor of Science from University of Southern California, Los Angeles. His research interest includes issues related to economic inequality and socio-economic development.

Hawati Abdul Hamid is a Research Associate at the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). She holds a Master’s degree in International Development Studies from the Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan and Executive MBA from University Teknologi MARA. Hawati obtained her BA (Hons) in Economics with Computing from the University of Kent, United Kingdom. Prior to joining KRI, she worked at the National News Agency (Bernama), Universiti Teknologi MARA and Securities Commission Malaysia. Her interest lies in socio-economics and financial capitalism issues as well as data analytics and visualization.

Registration
To register, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 31 October 2016.