This is a very dry book which requires a lot of concentration. Thank god it has a summary at the end of each chapter. But it does bring up some extremely interesting facts about Malaysia I did not know.
If you want some real, unbiased perspective on government policy I heartily recommend you to have a go at reading it. It raises interesting questions such as how successful was Mahathir’s drive to push the nation from manufacturing and import substitution towards heavy industrialisation and whether Malaysia has managed to develop the serious infrastructure and human capital needed to attract more advanced industries to set up here. A theme running throughout is also how alternative policy tools such as trade and financial liberalisation compare against active government policy intervention.
This is a question which weighs heavier than ever on our minds now that China is the preferred location for manufacturers worldwide (at the expense of countries like Malaysia) and Malaysian exports are declining. If you care about the competitiveness of Malaysia and what our leaders are doing about that I urge you to brave this read.
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