Globalization and National Autonomy: The Experience of Malaysia

11. Conclusions by Joan M. Nelson

301 11 CONCLUSIONS Joan฀M.฀Nelson The preceding chapters survey globalization’s multiple impacts on Malaysian policies in the economic, social, cultural and religious realms. This concluding discussion summarizes the findings and also addresses some further questions. What factors or circumstances helped to preserve substantial autonomy with regard to economic and social policies? Are these factors likely to have similar effects in the future, or is Malaysia at a turning point? What broader reflections on globalization and autonomy can be drawn from Malaysia’s experience? Globalization’s impacts extend far beyond the selection and implementation of government policies. Market pressures, for instance, may depress industrial wages. That impact may be heightened or diminished by government action; it may be consistent or in conflict with government goals. A different illustration: globalization’s cultural influences may profoundly affect local tastes, values, and artistic expression, yet these influences operate largely independently of government policies. It is often difficult to disentangle effects on policy space from direct impact on outcomes. Insofar as possible, however, this survey has focused on globalization’s effects on policy space — that is, autonomy and capacity. Globalization affects policies both through constraints and through influence, although much of the discourse on globalization and autonomy is framed solely in terms of constraints on policy. Governments are described as adopting specific policies because they are in some sense forced to do so — as explicit conditions in multilateral agreements or conditions 11฀GlobalNAn.indd฀฀฀301 7/23/08฀฀฀9:55:36฀AM 302 JOAN M. NELSON for aid, or to avoid adverse effects (reduced foreign investment, reduced ability to compete in international trade), or because some actions are necessary to support already established strategic choices. Governments may also be constrained to adopt particular measures because globalization has created strong demands among the public or specific interest groups (the “bottom-up route”). In all such cases, policies are adopted to avoid negative outcomes or as the price of increased benefits or opportunities. Governments may also introduce policies because they are influenced by external ideas or examples that point to previously unimagined opportunities or new approaches. Some of the effects of globalization on Malaysia’s policies are better described as responses to influence and opportunities, rather than constraints. GLOBALIZATION’S฀IMPACT฀ON฀MALAYSIA’S฀AUTONOMY The broad conclusions here can be simply stated. Despite Malaysia’s rapid and extensive integration into the world economy after 1970, thus far pressures of economic globalization have not severely constrained the government’s freedom to establish and pursue preferred objectives. However, globalization has had considerable influence on many aspects of policy. Globalization has also clearly enhanced capacity: Malaysia’s rapid growth, spurred by export-oriented foreign investment, has generated resources that greatly facilitated a wide range of public programmes and initiatives. Economic globalization has opened new opportunities for the economy. At the same time, the very different pressures of the global Islamic resurgence have increasingly constrained and influenced Malaysian policies. EXTERNAL฀IDEOLOGIES,฀ECONOMIC฀STRATEGIES,฀฀ AND฀MALAYSIAN฀AUTONOMY To what extent have external ideologies shaped Malaysia’s economic strategies, its choices regarding the broad directions and driving forces of development? One central theme in discourse about globalization is the impact of market-oriented economic ideology on governments’ policy space. Critics of globalization often suggest that governments are constrained to adopt policies that rely primarily on market forces, minimize regulation, and reduce the role of the state to market-supporting infrastructure and services, while opening their economies to international trade and investment regardless of the impact of such policies on equity 11฀GlobalNAn.indd฀฀฀302 7/23/08฀฀฀9:55:36฀AM CONCLUSIONS฀ 303 or welfare. Some advocates of globalization argue that such policies are essential if a nation is to capture the benefits of international economic integration. It is useful to explore this theme as it has played out in Malaysia, before turning to globalization’s effects on specific sectors and issues. As an independent nation, Malaysia has never been dependent on foreign aid or debt relief, and, therefore, vulnerable to conditions imposed by multilateral or bilateral aid agencies. Rather, from early in its history as an independent nation, Malaysia’s governing elite subscribed to several key principles consistent with market-oriented, open economy strategies. Moreover, as noted in the Introduction, both radical and moderate leftist groups and individuals in colonial Malaya were...