With its brilliant architecture and lovely cityscapes, Malaysia is a delightful blend of natural beauty and modernism
WHEN Ibn Khaldun, the famous 14th century Tunisian historian and sociologist, first visited Cairo, he was awe-struck. Later, he recorded in his autobiography: “What one can imagine always surpasses what one can see, because of the scope of the imagination — except Cairo, since it surpasses anything one can imagine.”
These words reflected, almost accurately, our feelings (six members of a family), when we recently landed at the Kuala Lumpur international airport (KLIA) on a week-long holiday trip. The airport itself is a marvel of modern architectural design and engineering. (I was told that the KLIA has a capacity to serve 25 million passengers a year, and can take care of over a million ton of cargo).
From the arrival lounge we boarded an ultra-modern, sleek looking electric train that took us to the immigration section, where the necessary formalities were carried out quite quickly. The baggage collection system was equally fast and within minutes we were in the outer hall of the airport.
Kuala Lumpur, also known as KL, was another big surprise. With its broad, tree-lined avenues, clean streets, elegant boutiques and coffee shops, luxurious departmental stores and shopping malls, impressive high-rise buildings, aesthetically designed, well-maintained parks and fountains, interspersed with artificial lakes and ponds, the city exudes a warm, tropical air of a friendly metropolis. Dominating the city skyline are the magnificent 88-storey high Petronas Twin Towers, which until recently, were the tallest structure in the world. The Twin Towers are not only a source of pride and confidence for the Malaysians, but also are a symbol of the new Malaysia, which in recent years has progressed tremendously as far as economic development and social sector improvement are concerned.
The individual chiefly responsible for transforming Malaysia from “an economic backwater to a success story” is none other than Dr Mahathir Mohammed, who assumed office of his country’s fourth prime minister in 1981, and served in that capacity till October 2003 — a record period of 22 years.
Dr Mahathir obtained his degree in Medicine in 1952. After dabbling in various business ventures for a few years, he set up his own medical practice (along with his wife, Siti Hasmah Mohammad Ali) in 1957 in his home town, Alor Star. After a few years of practice he decide to give it up for a career in politics, a field he felt passionately about since his university days. He then joined the country’s leading political party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), and soon attracted the attention of prime minister Tenku Abdul Rahman. In 1964 he contested his first parliamentary election defeating his opponent by a huge margin. Afterwards, his political career saw quite a few ups and downs, including his expulsion from the UMNO in 1969 and subsequent reinstatement in 1972 by Tun Abdul Razak, the second prime minister of Malaysia. After this, his rise in the party hierarchy was quite spectacular. In June 1981 he was confirmed as the UMNO’s fifth president and later on assumed office of the prime minister.
Malaysia’s “economic miracle” is associated with Dr Mahathir — and quite rightly so. However, we must remember that at the time of its independence in 1957, the country’s economy was based, almost entirely, on tin mining and rubber plantation. Most known trading houses, banks and insurance companies were, almost exclusively, under foreign ownership and control.
Though the economy improved somewhat during the first two decades after independence, it was only under Dr Mahathir’s stewardship that it really took off at a phenomenal pace. By developing pragmatic programmes, premised on a high-growth strategy, Dr Mahathir pursued market-oriented policies which stressed that economic growth should be accompanied by improvement in the distribution of incomes. He expanded the role of the private sector, having the active support of the public sector. He promised attractive incentives and a liberal economic environment against the backdrop of a stable socio-political milieu to attract foreign capital. The foreign direct investment (FDI) has played an important role in the economic development of Malaysia too.
In the last decade, the Malaysian economy achieved growth rates of about seven per cent annually. The GDP doubled to reach $57.7 billion. Exports and imports quadrupled to reach $92 billion and $78.6 billion, respectively, placing Malaysia among the world’s top 20 trading nations. From being a producer of rubber and tin only, Malaysia today exports manufactured goods like electronics, electrical machinery, chemical and plastic products, steel and metal products, textiles, apparel and footwear, petroleum products, crude oil and LNG, palm oil and rubber. In recent years the country has also emerged as one of the world’s leading exporters of semi-conductor devices, computer hard disc drives, audio and video products and air-conditioners. The manufacturing sector now accounts for 30.4 per cent of Malaysia’s GDP, while export of manufactured goods make up 86.5 per cent of the total exports.
Malaysia’s population of 24 million — (59 per cent Malay; 32 per cent Chinese; nine per cent Indian) — is generally well off. The per capita income stands at $3,516.00 and the literacy rate at over 80 per cent is one of the highest in the region. With the exception of racial riots in the late 1960s, when the Malay and the Indians gave vent to their anger against the more prosperous Chinese, who then controlled a major segment of trade and commerce, the country has been remarkably free of ethnic tensions.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that modern Malaysia is a product of Dr Mahathir’s genius. Once during an interview, he was asked if he was a thinker or a tinker. Dr Mahathir replied that he was both. But more than a thinker and a tinker, he is a visionary. His ‘Vision 2020’ for Malaysia is a bold and imaginative programme which, in the words of Dr Mahathir himself, “sets the long-term focus and direction for Malaysia to achieve the status of an industrialized and fully developed nation by 2020. The vision is a reflection of the strong commitment to raise the quality of living standard of the population to the level that is enjoyed by the developed nations.” The aim is to achieve higher productivity through technology and high, value-added economic activities.
At the centre of the Vision 2020 is the multimedia super corridor (MSC), a designated zone between KL international airport and KL city centre, where the two “intelligent cities” of Putrajaya and Cyberjaya are to be located. Construction work on both the projects is in full swing. Putrajaya, the new administrative capital, has already started functioning. It is a beautiful, modern city, well-planned and with aesthetically pleasing architecture and state-of-the-art facilities. Cyberjaya, the hi-tech “intelligent city”, when completed, is expected to support a population of 240,000. It will be equipped with advanced IT and telecommunication infrastructure to meet the business, residential and recreational needs of the citizens.
We left Malaysia with a heavy heart. Though one week is too short a stay, we were, nevertheless, impressed with what we had seen. The spectacular images of the country and the friendly, smiling faces we encountered everywhere still keep flickering on the memory screen. But there are, in the background, some profoundly disturbing questions which we in Pakistan must ask ourselves: Why have we not been able to emulate Malaysia? Why have we not been able to produce a leader like Mahathir Mohammad? Why have we not been able to eliminate sectarianism, ethnic strife and terrorism from our country? Why have we not been able to root out the evil of corruption? Why have we not been able to weld ourselves into a single and a united nation by eliminating provincialism? What has become of the Quaid’s motto of Unity, Faith and Discipline? When will we free ourselves from IMF’s clutches? When will we be able to stand on our own feet?
With its brilliant architecture and lovely cityscapes, Malaysia is a delightful blend of natural beauty and modernism 
