1st Edition

Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Malaysia

Edited By Meredith Weiss Copyright 2015
    480 Pages 12 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    480 Pages 12 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Malaysia offers a broad, analytical survey of Malaysia. It provides a comprehensive survey of significant topics in Malaysian politics, economy, and society today, focussing on issues, institutions, and trends. It is divided into four thematic sections, which are all introduced by the editor:

    • Domestic politics

    • Economics

    • Social policy and social development

    • International relations and security.

    Now available in paperback, the volume brings together an international team of experts: an interdisciplinary mix of forty contributors from Malaysia and elsewhere, including many of the leading specialists on Malaysian affairs. The chapters included in the volume form an accessible and fascinating window onto contemporary Malaysia. They each introduce a different aspect of the Malaysian polity, economy, or society, offering both historical perspective and a current assessment or investigation. Designed for general readers and specialists alike, chapters may be read individually – each stands on its own – or conjointly.

    Up-to-date, interdisciplinary, and academically rigorous, the Handbook will be of interest to students, academics, policymakers, and others in search of reliable information on Malaysian politics, economics, and society.

    Part I. Domestic Politics Overview Meredith L. Weiss 1. Elections in Malaysia: Voting Behavior and Electoral Integrity Bridget Welsh 2. Malaysian Political Parties and Coalitions Ong Kian Ming 3. Malaysia’s Unexceptionalism: Like Elsewhere, Elites are Fractious William Case 4. Islam, the State and Politics in Malaysia Joseph Chinyong Liow and Afif Pasuni5. Rise of Christian Political Consciousness and Mobilisation Arnold Puyok 6. Centralized Federalism in Malaysia: Is Change in the Offing? Francis Loh Kok Wah7. Exporting the BN/UMNO Model: Politics in Sabah and Sarawak James Chin 8. Local Government in Urban Malaysia Goh Ban Lee 9. Public Administration in Malaysia: Origins, Influences and Assessment Norma Mansor and Raja Noriza Ariffin10. Social movements in Contemporary Malaysia: The Cases of BERSIH, HINDRAF and PERKASA Anantha Raman Govindasamy Part II. Economics Overview Meredith L. Weiss11. Malaysia’s Development Strategies: Governing Distribution-through-Growth Greg Felker 12. Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Malaysia: Juggling Economic Imperatives and Political Reality Xiaoye She 13. Affirmative Action: Hefty Measures, Mixed Outcomes, Muddled Thinking Hwok-Aun Lee14. The Middle Class in Malaysia: Market Expansion, Consumption and Vulnerabilities Abdul Rahman Embong15. Natural Resource Extraction and Political Dependency: Malaysia as a Rentier State Helena Varkkey 16. Rent-seeking and Money Politics in Malaysia: Ethnicity, Cronyism and Class Jeff Tan 17. Labour In Malaysia: Flexibility, Policymaking And Regulated Borders Amarjit Kaur 18. Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainable Development Policies Adnan A. Hezri19. Rural Transformations Eric C. Thompson 20. The Great Transformation: Urbanisation and Urbanism in Malaysia Yeoh Seng Guan Part III. Social policy and social development Overview Meredith L. Weiss 21. Ethnicity and Identity Formation: Colonial Knowledge, Colonial Structures, and Transition Shamsul A.B. and Athi S.M. 22. Marginalisation of the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia Alberto G. Gomes 23. Civil Liberties in Contemporary Malaysia: Progress, Retrogression, and the Resurgence of ‘Asian Values’ John Liu 24. Educational Reforms in Malaysia: Towards Equity, Quality and Efficiency Molly N.N. Lee 25. ‘1 Care’ and the Politics of Healthcare in Malaysia Chee Heng Leng and Por Heong Hong 26. Interfaith Relations in Malaysia: Moving Beyond Muslims versus ‘Others’ Carolina López C.27. Culture and the Arts in Malaysia: Playing to Multiple Galleries Kathy Rowland28. Filling in the Gaps: The Pursuit of Gender Equality in Malaysia Tan Beng Hui and Cecilia Ng 29. Sexual Citizenship in Conflict Pang Khee Teik Part IV. International relations and security Overview Meredith L. Weiss30. Foreign Policy Priorities Karminder Singh Dhillon 31. Malaysia’s Security Concerns: A Contemporary Assessment Lai Yew Meng 32. Malaysia and the United States: A Maturing Partnership Heng Peck Koon 33. Malaysia-China Relations: Three Enduring Themes Kuik Cheng-Chwee 34. Issues and Challenges in Contemporary Malaysian–European Relations Ruhanas Harun 35. Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Malaysia Carolin Liss

    Biography

    Meredith L. Weiss is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University at Albany, State University of New York, USA. She is the author of Student Activism in Malaysia: Crucible, Mirror, Sideshow (2011) and Protest and Possibilities: Civil Society and Coalitions for Political Change in Malaysia (2006), and editor of several volumes, most recently Electoral Dynamics in Malaysia: Findings from the Grassroots (2014).