Development and Structural Change in Asia-Pacific

6	Economic growth and social development in Malaysia, 1971–98
	Does the state still matter in an era of economic globalisation?
	Ishak Shari

Introduction

Since July 1997, Malaysia has experienced a drastic change in her economic and political landscape following a serious financial crisis affecting Southeast and East Asia. As her economy plunged into recession in 1998, the worst since Malaysia’s independence, it was greatly feared then that the remarkable achievements in social development during the twenty-seven years before the crisis would be significantly eroded. There was concern that the deep recession would expose households to unemployment and poverty, and worse still even trigger racial conflicts and political instability, ...