Thammasat University students interested in Malaysia, ASEAN studies, political science, history, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 5 December Zoom webinar on Malaysia’s Madani – One Year On.

The event, on Tuesday, 5 December 2023 at 9am Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.

Malaysia Madani, or Civil Malaysia, is a policy framework and government slogan introduced by the administration led by the 10th Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

The concept focuses mainly on good governance, sustainable development and racial harmony in the country.

MADANI is an acronym in Malay for the core values: sustainability, prosperity, innovation, respect, trust, and compassion.

The TU Library collection includes several books about different aspects of politics in Malaysia.

Students are invited to register at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8417006452980/WN_b7iTKlV_SM-lIYcqKMSmGQ

The event webpage explains:

About the Webinar

The Anwar Ibrahim administration began under demanding circumstances. Malaysia’s complex political context has made attaining and maintaining majorities in parliament increasingly fraught, and the country’s voters are increasingly divided in their preferences.

Furthermore, the challenges facing the new government during its inaugural year have been formidable. The Unity government has needed to reconcile the demands of its many parties and coalitions. Besides absorbing bandwidth, the disparate composition of the governing coalition has entailed significant challenges, particularly in achieving consensus on crucial policy issues.

While retaining sufficient numbers in parliament, the Anwar Ibrahim administration has also had to face growing support for the opposition coalition, Perikatan Nasional. This has meant reconciling calls for institutional reform and avoiding strengthening the opposition’s base.

The government has also had to contend with a challenging fiscal position, with high levels of debt and limited room for additional revenue sources. The economic context has also been turbulent, with high rates of inflation, supply chain shocks, and volatile prices for key imports and exports.

This webinar will critically examine the inaugural year of the Anwar Ibrahim administration, shedding light on the complexities inherent in implementing systemic and enduring changes in Malaysia’s federal government and at this current economic juncture. It will examine the challenges that lie ahead and how the government intends to reform as well as locate the Malaysian economy within the broader perspective of the Madani economic framework.

About the Speakers

Dr Tricia Yeoh is the CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) Malaysia.

Dr Nungsari A Radhi is an economist and a member of the Advisory Committee to the Finance Minister (ACFIN).

A blog posted on the British Council website in October noted:

Malaysia’s Madani Economy: budget 2024 and 12th Malaysia plan mid-term review

In July 2023, less than a year after becoming Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim launched the Madani Economy: Empowering the Rakyat (People) Framework as the foundation and guiding principles to the country’s economic and development plans. The Madani framework replaces the Shared Prosperity Vision, which was launched in 2019 by former PM Mahathir, and which formed the basis of the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-25), with the recent Mid-term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (MTR) now realigned to Madani.

The Madani framework largely sets out the values and high-level targets for Malaysia to achieve its goal of becoming a leading Asian nation known for humane economic development, or growth that upholds the values of humanity and social justice.1 Some of these targets are for Malaysia to rank amongst the top 30 largest economies in the world, top 25 least corrupted countries according to the Corruptions Perceptions Index, top 12 in the Global Competitiveness Index and top 25 in the Human Development Index. Malaysia also aims to raise its female labour force participation rate to 60 per cent and to lower its fiscal deficit to three per cent and lower. These targets are ambitious though exciting for Malaysia if met. Malaysia currently ranks 61st on the Corruptions Perception Index, 27th on the Global Competitiveness Index and 62nd on the Human Development Index – so a leap of some 15-35 places in ten years can be quite a tall order. It is imperative, therefore, that PM Anwar succeeds in his reform agenda in weeding out corruption and instilling good governance as well as boosting foreign and domestic direct investment and raising wages if these targets are to be met.

For the Madani framework to become a reality, resources and on-the-ground targets need to be sufficiently aligned to it. In the recent Budget 2024, the Ministry of Education received the largest allocation of MYR58.7 billion (£10.1 billion), a 6.3 per cent increase from 2023’s allocation, while the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) received an allocation of MYR16.3 billion (£2.8 billion) for 2024, also up 6.5 per cent from 2023’s allocation. Another MYR6.8 billion (£1.2 billion) was allocated for TVET, with incentives to spur collaboration between industries and public TVET institutions. The fact that education remains at the forefront is a good start, as implicit in the framework is the need to develop human talent and for them to be ready and equipped to navigate through an increasingly digitalised and technologically advanced world. […]

Beyond this, a closer look at some of the data in the MTR also reveals education trends post-Covid which could indicate continued pressure on international student mobility from Malaysia to the UK and even to UK TNE. First, private upper secondary school enrolments have been falling since 2021 and in 2022 was 14.5 per cent lower than in 2020. A high percentage of these students typically go on to further their studies abroad, in major-English speaking countries, or at least move on to a TNE programme at HE level, so an overall decline in enrolment here would impact the sector negatively. Meanwhile, enrolments into private higher education institutions are also on a similar downtrend, and in 2022 was 4.4 per cent lower than in 2020 with much of the decline seen at bachelor’s degree level. In terms of field of study, there has been a sharp decline in the study of engineering, manufacturing and construction (across all public and private HEIs) against a significant increase in the study of science, maths and computing.

In sum, Malaysia’s aspirations are on the right track, and a Madani Malaysia in which more of its wealth is enjoyed equitably by its people will surely be positive for the UK sector. However, in the journey of getting there, the UK will need to continue to invest in Malaysia and seek to remain at the forefront of the country’s talent development amid increasing regionalisation and competition. Course and programme offerings will need to be critically reviewed to ensure that the UK is meeting the skills-in-demand, particularly as there are plans in the MTR to harmonise the ecosystems of public and private HEIs in terms of new programme offerings, research focus and digitalisation plans, as well as to align the programmes offered by all HEIs to national aspirations.

In essence, Madani is the Malay acronym for a set of values that is envisioned to embody Malaysia’s economic growth and development for the next ten years – sustainability, courtesy, respect, innovation, prosperity and trust or the acronym ‘SCRIPT’ in English.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)