a prominent malaysian leader essay

Eurasia Review

A Journal of Analysis and News

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Power And Corruption Within Malaysia’s Leadership – Analysis

By Murray Hunter

How they get away with it

Former Attorney General Tommy Thomas in his recent book, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness,” suggested that big-time corruption in the Malaysian polity sprang up during the Tun Abdul Razak era – 1970-1976 – that a secret or covert space in government appeared, out of sight of any scrutiny. 

This is real power, where greed and self-interests reign, over national interests. It is a milieu that has hobbled the country for more than a year with at least four factions struggling for power and a weak prime minister attempting to hold off his opponents through political patronage and other subterfuges to keep them at bay. 

There is a good deal of truth in the theory that a deep culture of secrecy and non-accountability exists in Malaysia’s government and administration that gets in the way of honest government.  It is more complicated than that, with a vast web of relationships between a powerful civil service, a political class more involved in ruling than governing, a web of laws that discourage reform groups and journalists, and a permissive culture that looks away in exchange for perks at election time rather than ending the careers of blemished politicians.

Those within the political or civil administration discovered committing corrupt acts are most often shifted quietly to other departments, or even promoted. There is no Freedom of information (FOI) framework, leaving administrative decisions to never reach public knowledge. Many contracts are awarded without transparent due process through tender processes, with major contracts with massive public interest considerations like toll way concession agreements hidden under the cover of the Official Secrets Act (OSA). 

Corruption starts at the bottom, from distorted stationary, cleaning, and vehicle maintenance contracts in government departments, making its way up through land deals undertaken by state agencies like State Economic Development Corporations, to the misallocation of public funds to bogus and white-elephant projects where politicians and their associates benefit. Some reach public knowledge like the National Feedlot Scandal, known colloquially as Cowgate, in which a powerful political leader, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, United Malays National Organization minister for women, family and community was accused of diverting a portion of RM250 million from a halal cattle feeding project to pay for condominiums, vacations and a Mercedes. She survived the crisis and Rafizi Ramli, the opposition figure who exposed it, was sentenced to 18 months in jail – suspended – for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. 

As with Cowgate, most such scandals remain hidden behind the façade of power and government. While 1Malaysia Development Bhd melted down in the biggest financial scandal in Malaysian history, with US$4.5 billion lost to mismanagement and corruption, the meltdown was largely detected by international press and the US justice department. Most will never be discovered, investigated, or prosecuted. Any activists or journalists who may be curious will be warned away via the Official Secrets Act. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is not an independent body, relying on the Public Prosecutor to give permission for any court proceedings against alleged wrongdoers. 

The most sinister power of Malaysian leaders is thus the ability to avoid public scrutiny and hide behind the machinery of government administration, encouraged by the country’s focus on government administration through executive decision-making, rather than via legislative means. The thousands of decisions made daily are never known, never questioned. There is almost no accountability. 

The threat of closure, lawsuit or arrest means there is little real investigative journalism occurring within local new media  — with exceptions for courageous publications like Malaysiakini and others – exacerbated by harsh institutional approach to potential inside whistle-blowers. There is a culture of fear about disclosing corruption, and also a great hesitancy on the part of police and other law enforcement agencies to investigate people considered VVIPs. Malaysiakini has faced numerous court actions, libel threats, contempt citations and other actions from the government.

Beyond that, far too many rural voters, whose electoral power stems from malapportionment, see corrupt politicians as Robin Hoods who steal from the public purse and give something back to them at election time. This leaves open possibilities for Malaysian leaders to continue committing corrupt acts without much fear of being discovered and held accountable. 

Beyond that, the notion that Malaysian political leaders enjoy almost absolute power is an illusion, most recently demonstrated when a request by the current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for emergency rule last October from the Yang Di Pertuan Agong was summarily rejected. Although the Covid crisis was the stated reason, the request was widely interpreted by critics as a means to stave off an opposition try to unseat his shaky coalition. 

The parliament is relatively unimportant in the functioning and even the existence of government. Most tussles for power have primarily been played with the king or state sultan/raja playing the kingmaker, rather than any test of numbers on the floor of the federal or state parliaments. The federal and respective state constitutions provide the constitutional monarch with some discretion to select as prime minister or chief minister, as the case may be, a person he believes will command the confidence of the majority of house members within the parliament. 

Federal and particularly state legislatures have very short sitting periods, and practice little in the way of scrutiny over executive government actions. This, on the whole, allows executives within the Malaysian parliamentary context to rely much more on governance through executive decision making, rather than the legislative process. The location of the federal parliament within the confines of Kuala Lumpur, rather than the centre of administrative government in Putra Jaya is symbolic of the secondary importance of parliament within the government decision making framework. 

State royal households appear to play a much greater role of scrutiny over state executives than parliaments. Most sultans hold weekly meetings with their chief ministers and subject them to questioning over issues of governance and administration. Sultans have even moved to rid state administrations of chief ministers who displease them, as was seen with the resignation of Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian in April 2019. Sultans have also blocked the appointment of governing party nominated candidates, as with the Perlis Raja’s refusal to appoint Shahidan Kassim chief minister in 2008, or the Selangor sultan’s blocking Wan Azizah Ismail, the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, from becoming the state’s chief minister in 2014. 

Sultans have also overruled state executive decisions, such as the Johor Sultan, who reversed an order to ban electronic cigarettes and vaping outlets in Johor in 2015. The influence of the monarchy over executive government is strong, as Muhyiddin found. Anwar Ibrahim, after his release from prison in 2018 spent his first week of freedom making goodwill visits to the royal households, knowing they are vital as kingmakers. 

As Malaysian political parties and politicians themselves rarely think in policy terms, policymaking and implementation have been primarily left to a powerful civil service, most recently in UMNO’s thrall, that set out in the wake of the 2018 Pakatan Harapan victory in national elections to thwart coalition decisions. The prime minister and executive primarily rely upon the civil service to develop and implement policy. Some ministers and their deputies over the years have not been familiar with issues of concern within their own portfolios, allowing senior civil servants to fill the vacuum.  

Given that the civil service is primarily made up of Malays, diversity of reflective community thinking within the service is narrow. In addition, strong power-distance relationships between directors of departmental units and staff hinders frank and open discussion about issues. This stifles creativity and innovation in policy development and problem solving within the service. 

To the disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s credit, he perceived the problem, instituting the government transformation program, led by Idrus Jala. Consultants were brought in to guide the civil service into adopting modern management practices. However, critics of the program saw the process as taking the opportunity to channel large consulting fees towards political cronies. 

A strong predisposition towards the idea of protecting the “Malay Agenda” within the civil service skews policy towards positive discrimination towards what is perceived as Malay interests. The so-called Pakatan Harapan reform government ran up against great resistance from the civil service with any policy initiatives that were perceived to go against the Malay agenda. Former deputy foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah labelled this resistance as a “deep state” at work which led to the sabotage of the then government’s plan to ratify the Rome Statute. 

A senior state civil servant from Kedah told Asia Sentinel that sabotaging or derailing chief ministerial directions was common by heads of state departments. Department heads would cunningly ignore directives from the chief minister’s office, knowing that on many issues there would never be any follow up. Another civil servant tactic was to put bureaucracy in the way or make up ‘red tape’ issues to stall and delay implementation. On some occasions, bureaucrats have sabotaged chief ministerial directives, knowing the Sultan disapproves of the particular directive. 

The art of sabotage of chief ministerial directives is often so cunningly hidden that bureaucrats use the phrase “hit and hide” to describe their actions. Sabotage actions are so well hidden, political leaders can’t find where resistance to their directions is coming from. 

A leader’s personal charisma and ability to induce collaboration among members of government, civil servants, and agencies is extremely important to the extent of power they are able to exercise and assert. Malaysian power-distance ranking is far higher than any other country in the world . According to this index, Malaysians are willing to almost unquestionably accept power and authority. This usually accords any prime or state chief minister an enormous platform of power that is totally daunting to any who would dare question it.

Government leaders too often practice a management style of rule through fear. Political party rules are often flaunted to expel any individuals and groups who oppose the leadership. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been partial and selective in whom they pursue for investigation and prosecution. 

Najib Razak, knowing he couldn’t trust the Special Branch, set up his own internal security organization within the Prime Minister’s Department to rival them. Formal mainstream media is used to project an aura of power and strength of leaders to the public. The PMO hosts a large army of trolls to pass out propaganda and attack opponents through social media. 

The prime attack tactic against opponents, political and otherwise, is to seek to destroy their public reputations, weaken and eventually wrest their power. Mahathir used the media to portray his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as a weak and ineffectual, asleep on the job, to force him to step down in favor of Najib Razak in 2009. Najib was continually attacked by Mahathir as extremely corrupt leader, which he was, and which played a major role in his election defeat in 2018, resulting in a Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan government taking power. 

It’s the scope and depth of political leaders’ personal relationships with other politicians, civil servants, police, members of the defence forces, royal families, and members of the judiciary, that provide them with power. For most of Malaysia’s political leaders this takes many years, if not a career. 

The country has a strong culture of comradery through schools they attended, club memberships and organizations they belong to.  However, this relationship paradigm has changed over the last decade. Where once membership of the Lake or Royal Selangor Golf Clubs was so important, this has mostly disappeared. The new paradigm of comradery is now membership of, or sympathy towards organizations like IKRAM. One of Muhyiddin’s key stakeholders in his government is the Perlis mufti, popularly known as Dr Maza, where former federal territories mufti Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, appointed as an independent minister within the PMO is seen by many as his proxy. 

Originally published in the Asia Sentinel

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Murray Hunter

Murray Hunter has been involved in Asia-Pacific business for the last 30 years as an entrepreneur, consultant, academic, and researcher. As an entrepreneur he was involved in numerous start-ups, developing a lot of patented technology, where one of his enterprises was listed in 1992 as the 5th fastest going company on the BRW/Price Waterhouse Fast100 list in Australia. Murray is now an associate professor at the University Malaysia Perlis, spending a lot of time consulting to Asian governments on community development and village biotechnology, both at the strategic level and “on the ground”. He is also a visiting professor at a number of universities and regular speaker at conferences and workshops in the region. Murray is the author of a number of books, numerous research and conceptual papers in referred journals, and commentator on the issues of entrepreneurship, development, and politics in a number of magazines and online news sites around the world. Murray takes a trans-disciplinary view of issues and events, trying to relate this to the enrichment and empowerment of people in the region.

2 thoughts on “ Power And Corruption Within Malaysia’s Leadership – Analysis ”

From the above remarks of the situation of the country, sad to say the political sentiment is perpetrated in corruption of mismanagement and squandering of wealth. Democracy and meritocracy have gone to the dogs. Any righteous government at all will take more than 50 years with strict measures to even improve just an inch. Unless there arise a real statesman with supporters of their ethnic community to really address these issues, the country follow other third world countries going downhill!

Was Power and Corruption cultures not existing in several countries and then expanded with the beginning of capitalistic economic system introduced by financially advanced developed countries and later again expanding further when in the name of democracy Governments were controlled by those who became politicians who may have abused their own positions for self enrichment at the expense of taxpayers and countries? Once in power laws and enforcement many may have used their power to ensure safety of their accumulated wealth and of their families relatives friends and financiers via having own appointed to high positions to ensure no action or enforcement or legal action or penalties or via pardons if convicted. Some may even had created political dynasties where power can remain within families to be inherited as family estate. Above may be perceived to be international culture and no reference to any specific cases as cybermedia may provide evidence. Bless all

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28 Famous Malaysians You Should Know

Celebrities, politicians, activists, models, millionaires and entrepreneurs; Malaysia has some famous people worth knowing. Here are 28 famous Malaysians you should know.

1. Dato’ Jimmy Choo, OBE Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat

Dato’ Jimmy Choo comes from a family of shoemakers in Penang. His name, Jimmy Choo, was actually misspelled on his birth certificate; Jimmy Choo was supposed to be Jimmy Chow! His company’s international recognition for its expensive and high-end handmade women’s shoes can be traced back to his father who taught Choo how to make his first shoe at the age of 11. Jimmy co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd in 1996 but has since sold his 50% stake in the company to his co-founder, Tamara Mellon. Based in London, Jimmy Choo is currently involved in a project to set up a shoemaking institute in Malaysia.

2. Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan

A prominent Malaysian lawyer and human rights advocate, Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan graduated, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law, from the University of Exeter in 1979, admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 1982, and is one of the eight recipients of the US International Women of Courage Award in 2009, which she received from Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. From 2007 to 2009, she served as the President of the Malaysian Bar Council.

Ambiga is also well-known for her involvement in  Bersih, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections looking to change the current electoral system in Malaysia. The United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton commended Ambiga on her “remarkable record of accomplishment in Malaysia” for being “a resolute advocate of women’s equality and their full political participation”.

See Also : 9 Inspiring Women to Know in Malaysia

3. Tan Sri Tony Fernandes

“Now everyone can fly,” is the famous tagline for AirAsia. And the man behind the successful low-cost airline is non other than the Malaysian-British entrepreneur, Tony Fernandes. Fernandes, the founder of Tune Air, is responsible for introducing Malaysia’s first low-cost airline, AirAsia, and has turned it from a failing government-linked commercial property into a highly lucrative public-listed airline company. Fernandes also lobbied the idea of open skies agreement with Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore to Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed in the mid-2003. He is also involved in a reality TV series: The Apprentice Asia, is the founder of the Caterham F1 Formula One and the Chairman of Queens Park Rangers. As of February 2014, Forbes Asia’s Malaysia’s Richest valued Fernandes’ net worth at $650 million, ranking him 28th on the list.

4. Abdul Samad Bin Muhammad Said

Better known by his pen name, A. Samad Said is a Malaysian poet and novelist who received the Southeast Asia Write Award in 1979, and the National Laureate title for his continuous writings and contributions to the nation’s literary heritage. A native of a small village called Belimbing Dalam in Malacca; he graduated from Singapore’s Victoria School in 1956 with a Senior Cambridge Certificate, started working as a clerk in a hospital and achieved his ambition of becoming a full-time writer in Utusan Melayu, Warta Tebrau and Berita Harian . A. Samad Said also aided Ambiga Sreenevasan and other activists in organizing the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011.

5. Bunkface

Bunkface is Malaysia’s Pop-Punk band from Klang, Malaysia. Formed in 2005, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Shamsul Anuar (Sam), bass guitarist and backup vocalist Farouk Jaafar (Youk) and lead guitarist Ahmad Farhan (Paan). The band’s name was inspired from one of Sum 41’s songs “Crazy Amanda Bunkface”. Besides Sum 41, they have cited Green Day, Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, The Offspring and Nofx as their main influences and style of music.

6. Jaclyn Victor

Jaclyn entered and won Malaysian Idol in 2004, after receiving immense encouragement from her mother to join the singing competition. Today, Jaclyn has a recording contract with Sony BMG Entertainment under her belt. She is also signed under KRU Music. Jaclyn’s amazing vocal prowess has made her well-known in Asia. Apart from singing, she has also starred in several films including Susuk and Appalam . Her appearance in Talentime (a Yasmin Ahmad production) won her the award for Best Promising Actress at the 22nd Malaysian Film Festival. Jaclyn Victor recently married American singer, songwriter and producer Shawn Rivera, from the RnB group Az Yet.

7. Amber Chia

Born December 14, 1981 in Ipoh, Perak, Amber Chia rose to fame as a model at the age of 17 after she moved to Kuala Lumpur. Securing her position as a finalist in the 2004 Guess Watches Timeless Beauty Contest, the pouty-lipped beauty has been in several advertisements by famous brands such as Sony, L’oreal and Mitsubishi. In fact, one could say that she has an omnipresent face! She has also ventured into the acting field in Chinese movies and series. Amber Chia also opened her own academy, the Amber Chia Academy, to train other up and coming models. In February 2014, she appeared as a guest judge in an episode of Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 2.

8. Joel Neoh

Joel Neoh is the founder of Groupon Malaysia. He is listed as one of the top 10 youngest entrepreneurs in Asia. His first successful business venture was a student agency set-up which helped to match fresh graduates with employers. In 2007, he was the youngest among 10 contestants to win Malaysia’s first corporate reality television programme “The Firm”. Neoh then co-founded and expanded Youth Asia (a social technology company) into a group of award-winning internet companies. One such company is GroupsMore, which mirrored Groupon’s business model. Four months later, the company joined Groupon and re-branded itself to Groupon Malaysia with Neoh as the CEO.  Neoh has also been named as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders (YGL) Class of 2013, out of 200 nominees, based on his professional achievements, leadership and commitment to society.

See Also : 6 Exceptional Entrepreneurs Innovating in Malaysia

9. Tan Sri Robert Kuok

Opulence is not an unknown word in Robert Kuok’s dictionary. According to Forbes, Kuok’s net worth is estimated to be at $14.7 billion (February 2012), making him the richest person in Malaysia. Having studied at Raffles Institution and English College Johor Bahru, Kuok was known as the Sugar King of Asia in the 70s’ for monopolizing five percent of the world’s sugar market. The Chinese Malaysian tycoon also made his money in palm oil, shipping and property. The Kuok Group boasts a huge network of companies under 3 main groups in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

See Also: Ten Richest People in Malaysia

10. Sazali Samad

Sazali Samad is Malaysia’s premier bodybuilder. Born in Batu Pahat, Johor, Samad is a father to  three boys and one girl, and loves to lift weights (obviously) at the Royal Malaysia Police PDRM bodybuilding training centre located in Bukit Aman, where he worked as a sub-inspector. Sazali Samad has represented Malaysia in the Asian Games in 2006 at Doha, Qatar. He has won numerous titles; Mr. Universe in Jeju, Korea (2007), 9-times winner of the World Bodybuilding & Physique Championship, 8-times winner of Mr. Asia, the Sports Man of the Year award (2006) by the Malaysian Sports Council and Anugerah Melayu Cemerlang by UMNO.

11. The late Yasmin Ahmad

Most Malaysians can still recall Yasmin’s heart-warming Petronas commercials during the festive seasons. These commercials were funny and depicted love and unity between all Malaysians. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally. Born in Muar, Johor, Yasmin originally worked as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather before moving to Leo Burnett in 1993 as joint creative director with Ali Mohamed. She soon rose to the position of executive creative director, and became well-known for her inspirational movies such as Rabun, Mukhsin, Talentime and more. In 2009, Yasmin suffered a stroke during a meeting. She was rushed to the hospital where she underwent a neurosurgery procedure. A few days later, she suffered a brain haemorrhage and passed away.

Yuna is an independent Malaysian singer-songwriter. She began composing music at the age of 14 and went on to perform her own songs when she was 19. Since 2006, she has performed in numerous acoustic shows and events throughout Malaysia. US Indie-Pop record label and management company discovered her talent and actually flew to Malaysia to convince her to sign a contract with them. They also managed to get her a deal with FADER Label, which is based in New York. Yuna is currently signed with the Verve Music Group with Grammy-winning producer David Foster heading the creative operations. In 2012, her single “Live Your Life”, produced by Pharrell Williams debuted on iTunes and she was recognized with a National Youth Icon Award by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

13. Dato’ Lee Chong Wei

Dato’ Lee Chong Wei is a Malaysian Chinese professional badminton player. He was ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the third Malaysian player to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the number one ranking for more than a year. Chong Wei is a silver medalist in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games, making him the sixth Malaysian to win an Olympic medal and the first Malaysian to reach the finals in the men’s singles event.

14. Datuk Nicol David

Datuk Nicol Ann David is currently ranked world number 1 in women’s squash. She is the first Asian woman to achieve this title. Nicol is a seven-time World Open Squash Championship record holder and a five-time British Open Squash Championship record holder. She has also won the World Junior Squash Championship title twice and is an eight-time Asian Squash Championship record holder. Nicol held an impressive 13-month, 51-match winning streak from March 2006 until April 2007. She lost in the finals of the 2007 Seoul Open Squash Championship. She was also – on seven occasions – the Women’s Squash Association Player of the year from 2005 – 2010 and 2012.

15. Dato’Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak

Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak is the sixth and current Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is the eldest son of Malaysia’s second Prime Minister, and the nephew of Malaysia’s third Prime Minister. Najib’s political career started in 1976 at the age of 23. Since then, he has held various posts in the Malaysian Cabinet including being Deputy Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Post, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Minister of Defense, Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister.  Najib took on the role of Prime Minister on the 3rd of April 2009.

16. Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad

Tun Mahathir was the fourth and longest-serving Prime Minister in Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2013, with a political career spanning almost 40 years. During his tenure as Prime Minister, Malaysia experienced a period of rapid modernization and economic growth. His government-initiated, bold infrastructure projects included the Petronas Twin Towers, the construction of the North-South Expressway, and the establishment of car manufacturer Proton. For his efforts to promote economic development of the country, Tun Mahathir was granted the soubriquet of “Father of Modernisation.”

17. Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh

A Malaysian actress best known for performing her own stunts in Hong Kong action films, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh was chosen by People Magazine as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” in 1997. She is best known for her roles in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in 2000. In 2008, she was ranked the greatest action heroine of all time by the film critic website Rotten Tomatoes. She was listed by People Magazine (the only Asian actress to be listed) as one of the “35 All-Time Screen Beauties” in 2009.

18. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor

This orthopedic surgeon was the first Malaysian to travel into space. He was launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on 10 October 2007. Sheikh Muszaphar flew under an agreement with Russia through the Angkasawan program, and returned to Earth on 21 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-10 with the Expedition 15 crew members.

Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid, more popularly known as Lat, is a Malaysian cartoonist. Lat is the winner of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2002 and has published more than 20 volumes of cartoons since he was 13 years old. While in school, he supplemented his family’s income by contributing cartoon strips to newpapers and magazines. He was 13 years old when he published his first comic book, Tiga Sekawan Menangkap Pencuri ( Three Friends Catch A Thief) . Lat is best known for his work The Kampung Boy , which was published in several countries across the world. His works mostly illustrate Malaysia’s social and political scenes, portraying them in a comedic light without bias.

20. Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir

The eldest child of the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir is considered to be an inspirational figure in Malaysia. She is a leader in the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and is currently an active sociopolitical blogger. She is an active campaigner for women’s rights and is a member of the board of Sisters in Islam. Marina Mahathir has also called for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientations in 1998 and 1999.

21. Chef Wan

A Malaysian celebrity chef, Redzuawan Ismail, or better known as Chef Wan, started his career as an accountant before turning to cooking. After witnessing the popularity of Asian food in western countries, he decided to promote Malaysia and other South East Asian countries using food from their respective countries. In 2009, he won the Best Celebrity Television Chef of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and is Tourism Malaysia’s culinary ambassador.

22. Dato’ Sheila Majid

Dubbed as the “Malaysian Queen of Jazz”, Dato’ Sheila Majid has achieved regional and international recognition over the years with her trademark contemporary- pop songs with a bit of jazz and R&B repertoire. She has won the prestigious BASF Award (Indonesian Music Award) for Best Female Artist in an R&B category in 1987. In 1989, Dato’ Sheila Majid performed at the Tokyo Music Festival and remains the first and only Malaysian artist to successfully infiltrate the Japanese music market. She has performed at a sold-out concert at London’s West End Royalty theatre in 1996 and took the stage to perform at Ronnie Scotts in London, the jazz Mecca of the music world. She is also the first local artiste to perform at the Petronas Filharmonik Hall in 2000.

23. Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. P. Ramlee

The Late Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. P. Ramlee, better known as P. Ramlee, was a Malaysian film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer and producer. He is the icon of Malay entertainment in Malaysia, Singapore and Sumatra due to his contributions to the movie and music industry and literary works. P.Ramlee was spotted at a cultural festival in early 1948 singing his own composition “Azizah .” He was spotted by director B.S. Rahjans who invited him to work as a back-up singer for Shaw Brothers studio films. His first acting role was in Cinta ( 1948) as a villain. In the next 18 years under the Malay Film Production unit of Shaw Brothers (popularly known as the Ampas Road studio) he acted, composed music and eventually wrote and directed dozens of Malay movies ranging from historical dramas to contemporary comedies. He won several acting and composing awards at the Asian Film Festival in the 1950s and 1960s.

24. Ananda Krishnan

Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan is a Malaysian businessman and philanthropist. Nicknamed AK, he is estimated to have a net worth of US$11.7 billion according to Forbes’ latest annual list of wealthiest people, making him the second wealthiest in Southeast Asia behind Robert Kuok. Ananda Krishnan is seldom seen in public. He is known to maintain a low profile for a person of his stature. He started attracting attention when he helped organise the Live Aid concert with Bob Geldof in the mid-1980s. In the early 1990s, he began building a multimedia empire that now includes two telecommunication companies; Maxis Communications, MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems and SES World Skies. He also has three communication satellites circumnavigating the earth.

25. Dato’ Bernard Chandran

Malaysia’s “King of Fashion”, Dato’ Bernard Chandran is a Malaysian fashion designer. His talents have earned him many faithful clients among Malaysia’s elite, most notably the Royal families of Malaysia and Brunei, as well as two former Miss Universe. Chandran is also a Malaysian television personality. He is the chief designer of the reality television show, Project Runway Malaysia. Chandran was also a guest judge on Britain’s Next Top Model, Cycle 6, Episode 12. The top three models were given the chance to model for Chandran’s fashion show during London Fashion Week.

26. Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin

Malaysia’s “Pop Princess” Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza is a singer, songwriter, record producer, television presenter and businesswoman. Since her debut, she has won a number of international singing competitions. She was crowned the Voice of Asia in 2002 after winning the Grand Prix Champion title at the Voice of Asia singing competition, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. To date, she has acquired more than 200 local and international awards since her debut at the age of 16. In 1998, she was chosen (amongst a handful of Malaysian artists) to perform during the closing ceremony of the 1998 Commonwealth Games. She performed in front of Queen Elizabeth II, her consort, Prince Philip, and other dignitaries and officials from 70 countries including those from the Commonwealth of Nations. In 2005, she became the first Southeast Asian singer to perform a solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall, while being backed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Her success in the Asian region has gained her honorific titles including “Voice of Asia” and “Asia’s Celine Dion”.

27. Datuk Zang Toi

Fashion icon Zang Toi is a Malaysian fashion designer. Zang Toi started out in New York, where he also studied at the distinguished Parsons School of Design, with just US$300 in his pocket. In 1990, he was awarded the Mouton Cadet Young Designer of the year, which recognizes the top young U.S. designers. This became a springboard to his fame in the fiercely competitive New York fashion world. He went on to win more awards in the coming years. Today, his House of Toi near Fifth Avenue, often dubbed the world’s most expensive street, produces high-end clothes for fine specialty stores in Saks 5th Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Among his rich-and-famous clientele are Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, actresses Kirstie Alley and Eva Longoria, popstar Fergie of Black Eyed Peas, and even Saudi princesses.

28. Dato’ Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim

Dato’ Seri Anwar served as Malaysia’s Finance Minister from 1991 to 1998. He was also the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1993 to 1998, when he was a member of UMNO, the major political party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. He was dismissed from his post as Deputy Prime Minister by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, and jailed for corruption and sodomy. Dato’ Seri Anwar has been a leading figure in the opposition following his release and is the leader of Pakatan Rakyat, economic advisor to the state government of Selangor and de facto leader of the People’s Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat).

During Dato’ Seri Anwar’s term as Education Minister, he was elected as the 25th President of UNESCO’s General Conference. In 1988, he became the second president of the International Islamic University of Malaysia. He was also selected as the Chairman of the Development Committee of World Bank and International Monetary Fund from March 1998 until September 1998. That year, Newsweek magazine named him “Asian of the Year”.

Who do you think should have been in this list of famous Malaysians? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Mahathir Mohamad: Turned Malaysia into a Rich Country

If any person wants to know and learn about leadership, he or she must have to learn from Mahathir Mohamad about leadership, how to lead the people, and how to turned into the rich country from a poor agricultural economy. He is known as the Father of Modernization for Malaysia. In this respect, dynamic reforms which have taken place in the context of whole Malaysia owe much to the leadership of Mahathir Mohamad. His leadership ability led the community to grow from lower level to upper level and the achievement unparalleled neither by any contemporary leader nor at the present time. He is a true patriot and a multi-talented leader where he was able to achieve a breakthrough in a short period of time. The purpose of this writing is to know about the leadership qualities of Mahathir Mohamad, achievements, and effective ruling ideas which turned Malaysia into a rich and developed country. This paper has written based on the analysis of literature review of some previous works about Mahathir Mohamad and Malaysia.

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This paper explores the significant lessons from Mahathir's domestic and foreign policy pursuit for the developing states and their leaders. From 1979, every mention of Malaysia's multi-faceted development would remain synonymous with Mahathir. The two can hardly be historically separated for they have so much bearings on each other, especially in terms of transformation and development of Mahathir's personal philosophy, political statecraft, thoughts, and ideals for development, and Malaysia's development and excelling not only among rivals and contemporaries, but before the so-called advanced nations and states. The paper is conceptual and used secondary sources of historical method of data collection and analysis. The paper is significant at this material time when many developing states and nations/leaders have lost the commitment, philosophy, practical statecraft, and inspiration, political maxims, and consistent and sustained principles for development which Mahathir embodies, preaches and practices, and has taken Malaysia where it is today with pride, dignity, development, prosperity and stability on both domestic and foreign scenes.

Otto F . von Feigenblatt, Ed.D., Ph.D.

Generally, this paper discusses Malaysia’s nation building process that includes the changing of national understanding from Sultanate perspective towards democratic nation. In 1957, Malaya achieved its independence. Ethnic Malays through United Malays National Organization (UMNO), ethnic Chinese through Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and ethnic Indian through Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) are the major political parties, which at that time maintained separate identities, based on ethnicity. However, they had to compromise and unify for independence. This paper will also touch on the factors, which influenced the process of nation building, especially internal and external factors. The role of several important leaders, especially former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, their policies and actions to develop and establish Malaysia’s nation building process, is discussed. Keywords: Nation Building; Leadership;

Dr. Uqbah Iqbal

Written by Hng Hung Yong and translated by Mokhtar Ahmad, this book describes the development of Malaysia's multi-racial society. Its essay discusses the question of change and modernization in the post-1970 Malaysia, focusing in particular on policies and programs related to Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad became Prime Minister since 1981. The book quotes an opinion. Some essays reflect the views of Dr. Mahathir on race, religion, language and political future of the Malays. Other essays comprise reviews of the title choice in political and economic fields. On the whole, the focus is given to the strategy, namely the public policy that determines the formulation of public policy versus implementation.

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Malaysia is a country that since its independence has endeavored to practice democratic governance. In line with this, it seeks to ensure that the Malaysian government is representative of the will of the people. To achieve this, there must be in place numerous mechanisms to ensure accountability and transparency while also ensuring that it has an ‘ear to the ground’ so to speak. Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib believed that transformational leadership posts the leader in the role of mentor whereby he able to designate responsibilities to his followers as a means to achieve self-actualization which is a positive means of promoting team-building efforts. To achieve the goals shared between him as a country’s leader and Malaysian peoples as his followers, he believed that inspirational motivation is needed, as it provides meaning to achieving this shared vision on ‘ how to make Malaysia as a high-Income Nation by 2020’?. PM Mohd Najib has been successful in articulating a compelling ...

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A Prominent Malaysian Leader

Filed Under: Essays Tagged With: Malaysia

As the fourth and most dynamic Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad will indelible impression on the sands of Malaysia for many years to come. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, and one of the longest-serving leaders in Asia. Born on 20th December, 1925 in Alor Setar, Dr. Mahathir is the son of a teacher. He is the youngest of nine children of a school teacher and a housewife. His father, Mohamad Iskandar, was of Indian descent, being the son of a Muslim and a Malay mother, while Mahathir’s own mother, Datin Wan Tempawan Wan Hanafi, was Malay.

He is married to Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah binti Haji Mohamad Ali, they have seven children, four sons and three daughters. From an early age, Tun Mahathir had the importance of education drummed into him by his father, who was also a strict disciplinarian. After his early education at the Maktab Sultan Abdul Hamid in Alor Setar, he enrolled at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in the University of Singapore. Armed with a MBBS degree in medicine, he set up his own clinic, the Maha Clinic in Alor Setar.

As a doctor, Tun Mahathir came into close contact with people from variety of social strata and enjoyed a close rapport with them. He understood their problems. Thus, when he was thrust into the politic limelight, he strove to fulfil the needs of the people. He was first catapulted into the world of politics when he became the Member of Parliement for Alor Setar in 1964. After holding a number of portfolios, including Minister of Education, Minister of Trade and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister, he finally became the Prime Minister on 16th July, 1981.

The Term Paper on Is the Prime Minister Too Powerful

In this essay, I will demonstrate that the Prime Minister is powerful and can cause many potential dangers by analyzing different elements inside and outside of our government over the period of different Prime Ministers throughout the Canadian political history. In theory, the Parliament is the most important institution in the Canadian government and all members of the parliament are equal. The ...

The country flourished with Dr. Mahathir at the helm of the government. His contributions to the nation are so immense and par excellence. He has left his mark in every aspect – in politics, economy or education. Realizing that government-owned enterprises are neither efficient nor profitable, he initiated the privation policy in 1983. This had immediate effect of cutting down bureaucratic ineptitude and operational cost while at the same time generating more revenue.

With collapse of the prices of agricultural commodities in the eighties, Tun Mahathir decided that it was time to shift the nation’s focus to more profitable areas. Thus, he started the industrialization programme. Reputed as the country’s top salesman, he showcased Malaysia to investors abroad in a bid to woo them. As a result of the heavy industrialization drive, major projects like national car project or PROTON and the steel company, PERWAJA, together with other mega project were launched one after another.

Next, realizing that industrialization would require a good infrastructure, he set about improving it. The Mahathir era saw a successful completion of the North-South Highway, the East-West Highway, the Multimedia Super Corridor, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang and many more. An astute politician, he charted the growth of the country’s progress from the day he took office. He envisages that Malaysia can only attain the status of a fully developed country if it becomes an industrialization one and this ambition has been his main agenda during his tenure.

With this in mind, he announced Vision 2020, his most ambitious vision. Frank and outspoken by nature, Tun Mahathir speak without fear nor favour. This has been the hallmark of thus much respected statesman. The inefficiency of local and international organizations has always come under his scrutiny and critism. It has been almost two decades since Tun Mahathir took over reins of the government. It has undoubtedly been the golden era for Malaysia with many notable achievements.

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The end of Umno? Essays on Malaysia's dominant party

Title: The end of Umno? Essays on Malaysia's dominant party Editor/s: Bridget Welsh Author/s: John Funston, Clive Kessler, James Chin, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah Publication Date : 2016 Publication type:   B ook Publisher: Gerakbudaya Find this publication at: https://www.gerakbudaya.com/product/the-end-of-umno-essays-on-malaysias-dominant-party

What is the future of UMNO? Is UMNO’s 70th year, in fact, the beginning of the end?

The contributors in this collection study developments in Malaysia’s dominant party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), on the anniversary of its 70th year. The answers to its future lies in part with a better understanding of its past. Four international academics analyse the contemporary history of UMNO, with a particular focus on changes in the last two decades. They draw attention to issues of party identity, leadership, membership, governance, institutional change, party financing, internal divisions and its relations with different communities and the public at large. Not only does this book fill an important gap in the scholarly research on UMNO, this book offers different perspectives on the party’s contemporary challenges.

The contributors in this collection include prominent and established scholars studying Malaysian politics. They are all long-time observers of UMNO and each of the essays builds on their fieldwork and earlier scholarship. John Funston expands upon his seminal work on Malay politics, Malay Politics in Malaysia: A Study of UMNO and PAS. Clive Kessler draws from his rich anthropological work on Kelantanese and Malay society, as well as decades of analysis on Malaysian politics in his analysis of UMNO’s changing political identity. Leading political scientist and political commentator James Chin focuses on the changing perspectives on UMNO amongst the Malaysian Chinese, whilst Bridget Welsh draws from her fieldwork on elections and local party dynamics to examine how UMNO has struggled with reform, crises and an erosion of its political legitimacy.

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A prominent malaysian leader - sample essays: continuous writing.

CONTINUOUS WRITING: SAMPLE ESSAY ARTICLE: Description on a Person A Prominent Malaysian Leader             As the fourth and most dynamic Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad will indelible impression on the sands of Malaysia for many years to come. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest-serving Prime Minister, and one of the longest-serving leaders in Asia. Born on 20th December, 1925 in Alor Setar, Dr. Mahathir is the son of a teacher. He is the youngest of nine children of a school teacher and a housewife. His father, Mohamad Iskandar, was of Indian descent, being the son of a Muslim and a Malay mother, while Mahathir's own mother, Datin Wan Tempawan Wan Hanafi, was Malay. He is married to Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah binti Haji Mohamad Ali, they have seven children, four sons and three daughters. From an early age, Tun Mahathir had the importance of education drummed into him by his father, who was also a strict disciplinarian.             After his early education at the Maktab Sultan Abdul Hamid in Alor Setar, he enrolled at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in the University of Singapore. Armed with a MBBS degree in medicine, he set up his own clinic, the Maha Clinic in Alor Setar. As a doctor, Tun Mahathir came into close contact with people from variety of social strata and enjoyed a close rapport with them. He understood their problems. Thus, when he was thrust into the politic limelight, he strove to fulfil the needs of the people. He was first catapulted into the world of politics when he became the Member of Parliement for Alor Setar in 1964. After holding a number of portfolios, including Minister of Education, Minister of Trade and  Industry and Deputy Prime Minister, he finally became the Prime Minister on 16th July, 1981. The country flourished with Dr. Mahathir at the helm of the government. His contributions to the nation are so immense and par excellence. He has left his mark in every aspect – in politics, economy or education. Realizing that government-owned enterprises are neither efficient nor profitable, he initiated the privation policy in 1983. This had immediate effect of cutting down bureaucratic ineptitude and operational cost while at the same time generating more revenue. With collapse of the prices of agricultural commodities in the eighties, Tun Mahathir decided that it was time to shift the nation’s focus to more profitable areas. Thus, he started the industrialization programme. Reputed as the country’s top salesman, he showcased Malaysia to investors abroad in a bid to woo them.  As a result of the heavy industrialization drive, major projects like national car project or PROTON and the steel company, PERWAJA, together with other mega project were launched one after another. Next, realizing that industrialization would require a good infrastructure, he set about improving it. The Mahathir era saw a successful completion of the North-South Highway, the East-West Highway, the Multimedia Super Corridor, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang and many more. An astute politician, he charted the growth of the country’s progress from the day he took office. He envisages that Malaysia can only attain the status of a fully developed country if it becomes an industrialization one and this ambition has been his main agenda during his tenure. With this in mind, he announced Vision 2020, his most ambitious vision. Frank and outspoken by nature, Tun Mahathir speak without fear nor favour. This has been the hallmark of thus much respected statesman. The inefficiency of local and international organizations has always come under his scrutiny and critism. It has been almost two decades since Tun Mahathir took over reins of the government. It has undoubtedly been the golden era for Malaysia with many notable achievements. Source: SPM SAMPLE OF ESSAYS - CONTINUOUS WRITING @ English For All

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If anyone thinks that Malaysia is an under-developed country held back by non-progressive politics, he or she obviously hasn’t heard about these women.

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Shamsiah Fakeh

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Heidy proved that Facebook “likes” could turn into real, tangible help. Only 18 years old when she co-founded Refuge for the Refugees (RFTR) in 2012, Heidy first harnessed the power of social media to raise funds for a local refugee school, and succeeded in raising RM12,500 ($3,197.75) in 3 months.

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Tan Sri Dr. Robaayah Zambahari

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Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.

Places to Stay

What are the best resorts in malaysia.

Guides & Tips

The borneo sun bear: where to find the world's smallest bear.

The Best Hotels to Book in Ipoh, Malaysia, for Every Traveller

Food & Drink

Borneo food: top dishes to try when you visit.

The Best Hotels in Batu Ferringhi, Malaysia, for Every Traveller

The Best Hotels to Book in Sandakan, Malaysia, for Every Traveller

The Best Hotels in Sarawak, Malaysia, for Every Traveller

See & Do

Visiting the borneo rainforest: all you need to know.

The Best Hotels in Miri, Malaysia, for Every Traveller

The Best Hotels to Book in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, for Every Traveller

The Best Hotels to Book in Sabah, Malaysia

The Best Hotels in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, for Every Traveller

Culture trip spring sale, save up to $1,100 on our unique small-group trips limited spots..

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