Built around political stability, economic interventionism and openness to international trade, the specific characteristics of Malaysia's growth model have enabled the country to weather the economic and financial shocks of recent years. The economy did not collapse despite the sharp drop in commodity prices, slowing global trade and China's economic slowdown.
Since 2013, however, it looks like the country's growth model has weakened. Social cohesion is eroding, and Malaysia, whose exports are highly integrated regionally, seems to be vulnerable to the diminishing advantages of participating in global value chains and to rising protectionism.
1970-2010: the New Economic Policy (NEP)
Malaysia has long been seen as the most politically stable country in the region. Since its independence in 1957, the successive governments have all been formed by the same coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), comprised of 13 parties, including 4 national ones and 9 parties mainly representing the ethnic communities of Sabah and Sarawak.
For more than forty years, the BN has successfully maintained a balance between the ethnic and religious communities. About 55% of the Malaysian population are Malay Muslim; 10% are other "indigenous" people, which along with the Malay form the category Bumiputra (literally, sons of the land or soil); 26% are Chinese (for the most part Buddhists and Christians) and nearly 9%, Indians (for the most part Hindu).
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by Hélène DROUOT