The Politics and Institutional Arrangements in Malaysia’s Automotive Industry

This paper examines the strategic role of policymakers in shielding the interest of Malaysia’s domestic automotive producers. Policy arrangements formed by certain elites and national car makers have enabled coordination and mobilization of economic preferences in the latest version of the National Automotive Policy (NAP). Despite liberalization initiatives, the strategic role of policy actors in policy-making institutions has allowed some parties to tweak policy terms in favour of national car makers and local vendors. Although it may appear that the NAP is opening up the industry, actual pro-market reforms have been limited. This is inevitable due to the historical specificity and political considerations embedded in the country’s policy-making institutions.