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Competing!Discourses!of!
Development!in!Malaysia!
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Pei$Ling$Gan$
(1355795)$
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2014$
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This$dissertation$is$submitted$as$part$of$the$$
Master$of$Arts$degree$in$Environment$and$Development$$
at$Kings$College$London$

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KINGS COLLEGE LONDON

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

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DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

MA/MSc DISSERTATION

I, Pei Ling Gan hereby declare (a) that this Dissertation is my

own original work and that all source material used is acknowledged
therein; (b) that it has been specially prepared for a degree of the
University of London; and (c) that it does not contain any material
that has been or will be submitted to the Examiners of this or any
other university, or any material that has been or will be submitted
for any other examination.

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This Dissertation is 11,963 words.

Signed: ....
Date: ....

Abstract(
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The! concept! of! development! and! its! practices! have! always! been! sites! of! fierce!
ideological! struggle.! International! development! institutions! like! the! World! Bank,!
governments! and! social! scientists! have! always! been! employing! specific! discourses! to!
shape!the!ways!we!think!about!development.!This!study!critically!reviews!conceptions!
of!development!as!economic!growth,!modernisation!and!emancipation!from!oppression!
before!proceeding!to!examine!national!and!local!discourses!of!development!in!Malaysia.!
Discourse!analysis!is!deployed!to!deconstruct!ideological!statements!and!the!politics!of!
representations!in!national!policy!documents,!namely!the!New!Economic!Model!and!the!
10th!Malaysia!Plan,!which!chart!Malaysias!grand!plan!to!become!a!developed!country!
by!2020.!The!research!subsequently!looks!into!the!discourses!used!to!justify!and!oppose!
one! of! the! most! controversial! development! projects! in! Malaysia! in! recent! years:! the!
Lynas!rare!earth!refinery.!
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CONTENT(
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Abstract..I!
Content..II!
Table,!Figures!and!Abbreviations...III!
AcknowledgementIV!
(
Chapter(1(Introduction1(
Chapter(2(Conceptions(of(Development..4(
Development!as!Economic!Growth.4!
Development!as!Westernisation..9!
PostVDevelopment..10!
Development!as!Emancipation...12!
Chapter(3(Discourse(of(Development(in(Malaysia.15(
Malaysias!Development!History...15!
A!Critique!of!the!States!Development!Discourse19!
Chapter(4(Contesting(Development(in(Malaysia.27(
A!Case!Study!on!the!Lynas!Rare!Earth!Refinery...27!
Ecological!Modernisation...29!
Scientific!Rationalism...31!
Democratic!Development..33!
Rethinking!Sustainable!Development35!
Chapter(5(Conclusion.37(
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Appendix!1:!Geography!Research!Ethics!Screening!Form..39!
Appendix!2:!Risk!Assessment!Form..40!
Appendix!3:!Ethical!Approval!Notification...41!
Appendix!4:!Interview!Questions...43!
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References.45(
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II!

Table(
Table!1:!Ethnic!population!and!average!household!income!in!Malaya!in!195716!
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Figures(
Figure!1:!States!of!Malaysia16!
Figure!2:!A!comparison!of!the!number!of!times!selected!key!terms!are!mentioned!in!the!
NEM!&!the!10!MP20!
Figure!3:!The!NEMs!goals...21!
Figure!4:!Growth!of!national!household!income!between!1980V200823!!!
Figure!5:!A!comparison!of!the!mentions!selected!social!groups!received!in!the!NEM!&!
the!10MP..24!
Figure!6:!Locations!of!the!rare!earth!refineries!in!Malaysia..27!
Figure!7:!Photos!of!the!Lynas!Advanced!Materials!Plant.28!
Figure!8:!Public!protest!in!Kuantan!on!26!February!2012.29!
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Abbreviations(
AELB!!Atomic!Energy!Licensing!Board!
ARE!!Asian!Rare!Earth!
BN!!Barisan!Nasional!
DEIA!!Detailed!Environmental!Impact!Assessment!
DOE!!Department!of!Environment!
EPU!!Economic!Planning!Unit!
LAMP!!Lynas!Advance!Materials!Plant!
NEAC!!National!Economic!Advisory!Council!
NEM!!New!Economic!Model!
NEP!!New!Economic!Policy!
PAS!!Parti!Islam!SeMalaysia!(PanVMalaysian!Islamic!Party)!
PKR!!Parti!Keadilan!Rakyat!(Peoples!Justice!Party)!
SLC!!Stop!Lynas!Coalition!
SMSL!!Save!Malaysia!Stop!Lynas!
UMNO!!United!Malays!National!Organisation!

III!

Acknowledgment(
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I!would!like!to!extend!my!gratitude!to!my!supervisor!Prof!David!Green!for!guiding!
me! along! the! process! of! dissertation! writing.! His! advices! have! helped! me! to! structure!
my!thoughts!and!ideas!into!a!hopefully!coherent!study!on!the!competing!discourses!of!
development! in! Malaysia.! I! would! also! like! to! thank! the! AELB,! Lynas,! politicians! and!
activists!who!have!agreed!to!take!part!in!this!research.!!
The!idea!for!this!dissertation!did!not!come!from!a!vacuum.!It!is!a!result!of!my!past!
professional!and!personal!encounters!with!indigenous!activists,!feminists,!human!rights!
advocates! and! environmentalists,! whose! stories! have! enabled! me! to! see! development!
from! the! bottomVup.! I! would! also! like! to! express! my! appreciation! to! Dr! Daanish!
Mustafa,!Dr!Deborah!Potts,!Prof!Frances!Cleaver,!Dr!Andrew!Brooks,!Prof!Mike!Hulme,!
Prof! Tony! Allan,! Dr! Nathanial! Matthews! and! Prof! Mike! Goodman! for! widening! my!
intellectual!horizon.!!
I!am!grateful!to!the!Foreign!and!Commonwealth!Office!that!had!awarded!me!with!
the! Chevening! scholarship! to! undertake! this! masters! degree! for! otherwise! I! would!
never! have! been! able! to! afford! it.! I! would! also! like! to! extend! my! heartfelt! thanks! to!
Sheridan! Mahavera! for! proofreading! my! drafts! and! providing! constructive! comments.!
Last!but!not!least,!my!parents!and!sister!who!have!always!supported!me!to!pursue!nonV
conventional!paths!in!life.!!

IV!

Chapter(1(Introduction(
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Protests! against! large.scale! development! projects! in! Malaysia! have! intensified!
over! the! past! few! years! (Gan,! 2013).! Thousands! of! citizens! took! to! the! streets! to! rally!
against!the!construction!of!a!rare!earth!refinery,!the!largest!outside!China,!in!the!state!of!
Pahang! between! 2011! and! 2012! (Gooch,! 2012).! On! the! island! of! Borneo,! the! Sarawak!
state! governments! plan! to! build! seven! hydroelectric! dams! that! would! displace! over!
20,000! natives! has! also! attracted! fierce! local! opposition! (Stephenson,! 2014).! In! other!
states,!mounting!resistance!towards!mega!development!projects!such!as!a!multi.billion!
dollar! petrochemical! complex! in! Johor! (Chooi,! 2012a)! and! an! extravagant! highway!
project! in! Selangor! (Chan,! 2014),! have! also! gained! national! attention.! Although! the!
federal! and! state! governments! involved! believe! these! projects! are! economically!
beneficial,!local!communities!are!wary!of!their!social!and!environmental!consequences.!!
In! 2008,! the! political! coalition,! Barisan' Nasional' (National! Front! [BN]),! that! has!
ruled!Malaysia!since!its!formation!in!1963!lost!five!states!to!opposition!parties!for!the!
first! time.! Dubbed! a! political! tsunami,! the! BN! had! also! lost! two.thirds! majority! in!
Parliament!for!the!first!time!since!1974!(Ong,!2008).!In!the!2013!general!elections,!the!
BN!lost!the!popular!vote!but!won!enough!seats!to!retain!control!of!the!Parliament!and!
form! the! federal! government! as! a! result! of! electoral! mal.apportionment! and!
gerrymandering! (Gomez! and! Kaur,! 2014).! It! is! against! this! volatile! political! backdrop!
that! Malaysian! citizens! are! rising! up! to! contest! the! states! top.down,! growth.driven!
development!model.!!!
Conventional! conceptions! of! development! often! simplistically! equate! it! with!
economic! growth,! industrialisation! and! modernisation.! Yet,! these! processes! do! not!
automatically! improve! peoples! lives.! Economic! growth! without! wealth! distribution!
widens!social!inequality!(Stiglitz,!1996).!Industrialisation!without!strict!environmental!
regulations! leads! to! widespread! pollution! (Neumayer,! 2010).! Modernisation! itself! is! a!
problematic! concept! tied! to! Westernisation.! American! geographers! Richard! Peet! and!
Elaine!Hartwick!(2009,!p.22)!sum!it!up!best:!!
Modernisation!theoriessee!development!as!a!uniform,!linear,!stage.
type! process! led! by! the! historical! examples! of! the! rise! of! the! West.! In!
this!view,!the!rest!of!the!World!is!just!trying!to!catch!up.!!

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Thus,!modernisation!theory!has!been!used!to!justify!Western!ethnocentrism.!Societies!
categorised! as! modern! and! developed! are! considered! superior! to! traditional!
societies!from!developing!or!underdeveloped!countries!are!perceived!to!be!inferior.!
Critical! theories! in! Marxism,! feminism,! cultural! studies! and! post.colonial! studies! have!
generated!diverse!conceptualisations!of!development.!If!development!is!taken!to!mean!
emancipation!and!a!better!life!for!all!(Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009,!p.1),!then!it!must!lead!
not!just!to!material!prosperity!but!also!to!social!equality,!a!respect!of!cultural!diversity!
and! environmental! sustainability.! I! will! discuss! the! geography! of! development! and!
review! conventional! and! critical! theories! of! development! that! have! informed! global!
development!thinking!in!Chapter!2.!
This! research! aims! to! investigate! discourses! of! development! in! Malaysia.! By!
discourse! I! mean! a! particular! set! of! ideological! statements,! metaphors! and!
representations!!often!assumed!to!be!the!truth!(Foucault,!1980)!!that!is!commonly!
used!by!institutions!and!experts!particularly!from!the!social!sciences!to!frame!a!specific!
subject!such!as!development.!Development!as!a!concept!itself!is!a!social!construct.!We!
construct! our! knowledge! about! development! through! discursive! practices! (Foucault,!
1972).! Bryman! (2004)! has! observed! that! most! discourse! analysts! displayed! an! anti.
realist!orientation!rooted!in!postmodernism.!!
My! own! stance! is! that! it! is! possible! for! social! scientists! to! gain! situated!
knowledge!of!an!objective!social!reality!(Haraway,!1988).!The!knowledge!is!situated!
for! it! would! be! constrained! by! the! researchers! worldview,! personal! values! and! life!
experience!from!a!certain!social!class,!gender,!ethnicity,!religion!or!atheism,!nationality,!
age,!geography!(urban/rural,!Global!North/South)!and!profession.!It!would!be!arrogant!
for!social!researchers!to!pretend!to!have!the!God.like!ability!to!completely!get!rid!of!our!
human!limitations!when!studying!complex!human!beings!motivations!and!behaviours.!
But!social!scientists!can!try!to!be!reflexive!and!critical!of!our!own!positionality!(Cloke!et'
al,! 2004).! Additionally,! we! must! always! seek! to! compare! and! contest! each! others!
situated!knowledge!to!expand!our!understanding!of!the!diverse!world!we!live!in.!!
I! have! decided! to! undertake! this! study! because! I! have! covered! some! of! the!
controversial!projects!mentioned!in!the!beginning!of!this!chapter!as!a!rookie!journalist.!
My! conjecture! was! that! these! controversies! stemmed! from! conflicting! expectations! of!
development! goals! and! processes! between! the! state! and! the! people.! Hence,! I! have!
chosen! a! multidisciplinary,! mixed! research! method! to! critically! analyse! the!

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contemporary!discourse!of!development!and!its!contestation!in!Malaysia.!The!first!part!
of! this! study,! detailed! in! Chapter! 3,! involved! a! discourse! analysis! of! the! Malaysian!
governments! current! development! policies.! National! governments! as! well! as!
international! development! agencies! like! the! World! Bank! rely! on! discourses! of!
development! to! justify! their! economic,! social,! cultural! and! environmental! policies!
(Crush,!1995).!!
However,! a! states! dominant! discourse! of! development! can! be! subjected! to! the!
peoples!contestation.!Power,!even!if!unequal,!flows!both!way!between!the!state!and!the!
people.! Therefore,! I! have! decided! to! zoom! in! on! one! of! the! development! projects! that!
have! faced! strong! public! opposition! Malaysia! in! Chapter! 4.! The! Lynas! rare! earth!
refinerys! Australian! owner! has! claimed! that! the! project! contributes! to! sustainable!
development!(Lynas!Corp,!2014)!but!activists!are!convinced!that!the!plant!is!a!public!
health! and! environmental! hazard.! Through! interviews! with! relevant! government!
officials,! opposition! politicians,! Lynas! Corp! and! the! activists,! I! sought! to! understand!
contradicting! ideas! of! development! among! these! actors! to! get! to! the! root! of! this!
development!controversy.!Finally,!I!have!summarised!the!key!findings,!the!limitations!of!
this!study!and!opportunities!for!further!research!in!the!concluding!chapter.!

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Chapter(2(Conceptions(of(Development(
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The!term!development!has!evoked!passionate,!critical!debates!in!the!academia.!
The! concept! itself! and! its! practices! are! sites! of! fierce! ideological! struggle.! Different!
theories! of! development! have! been! competing! to! shape! the! ways! we! think! about! the!
world! and! how! we! can! change! it! for! the! better! (Crush,! 1995).! To! most! economists,!
development! is! synonymous! with! economic! growth.! But! to! more! critical! economists,!
feminists! and! ecologists,! development! must! entail! social! transformation,! gender!
equality!and!environmental!sustainability.!To!postmodernists,!it!is!a!Western!imperial!
project!that!should!be!abandoned!(Escobar,!1995).!!
Development!can!be!construed!as!a!goal,!a!directed!process!or!both.!This!chapter!
provides! a! broad! overview! of! key! political,! economic! and! social! theories! that! have!
shaped! global! discourses! and! the! geography! of! development.! Each! of! these! theories!
comes! with! its! own! set! of! assumptions! and! regime! of! truth! (Foucault,! 1980)! about!
human! nature! and! progress.! Major! schools! of! economic! thought! and! modernisation!
theory,!which!assumed!nonNWestern!countries!should!copy!the!Wests!capitalist!model!
to! achieve! development,! have! dominated! global! development! thought! (Jacobs,! 2008).!
But! Marxist,! feminist! and! green! critiques! of! conventional! development! theories! have!
critically! reNexamined! the! relationship! between! the! economy,! society,! women! and!
nature!to!come!up!with!more!holistic!conceptualisations!of!development.!!
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Development!as!Economic!Growth!
Does! economic! development! requires! state! planning?! Classical,! neoclassical! and!
neoliberal!economists!advocate!for!free!markets!and!a!minimal!state,!but!Keynesian!and!
development!economists!believed!state!intervention!is!needed!to!develop!the!economy!
and! redistribute! wealth.! It! should! be! highlighted! that! except! for! the! eclectic!
developmentalist! tradition! (Chang,! 2014),! major! schools! of! economic! thought! are!
primarily! derived! from! the! U.S.! and! Western! European! countries! experience! of!
capitalist! industrialisation.! Additionally,! mainstream! economic! theories! have! been!
criticised!for!their!obsession!with!economic!growth!that!is!leading!the!world!economy!
down!an!environmentally!unsustainable!path!(Heinberg,!2011).!
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Developmentalist-TraditionPragmatic! policymakers! started! the! developmentalist! tradition! in! economics! in!

the! late! 16th! and! early! 17th! centuries! (Chang,! 2014).! Older! than! the! classical! school! in!
the! history! of! economic! thought,! it! is! a! diverse! tradition! backed! by! a! rich! intellectual!
lineage! (Jomo! and! Reinert,! 2005).! Chang! (2014)! believed! it! is! the! most! influential!
intellectual! tradition! in! economics! in! terms! of! its! real! world! impact.! He! attributed! the!
achievements! in! economic! development! in! 18th! century! Britain,! 19th! century! Germany!
and! the! United! States,! and! China! today! to! the! developmentalist! tradition.! Its!
practitioners! such! as! Alexander! Hamilton,! chief! of! staff! to! U.S.! president! George!
Washington! in! the! late! 18th! century,! believed! that! poorer! economies! must! use! a!
strategic! combination! of! protectionist! policies! to! develop! infant! industries.! Free!
markets! would! only! lock! poor! countries! into! lowNproductivity! activities! based! on!
primary!commodities!export!or!cheap!labour.!!
Its!standard!policy!recommendations!include!investment!in!public!infrastructure;!
promotion!of!new!industries!through!tariffs;!encouragement!of!domestic!processing!of!
raw! materials! through! export! taxes! or! bans;! discouragement! or! prohibition! of! luxury!
imports;!promotion!of!exports!through!marketing!support!and!quality!control;!support!
of! technological! progress! through! state! monopoly,! patents! and! stateNsubsidised!
recruitment! of! skilled! workers! from! economically! advanced! countries;! and! subsidies!
and! preferential! treatment! in! government! procurement! (Chang,! 2014;! p.469).! Its!
modern!form,!known!as!development!economics,!emerged!in!the!1950s.!Development!
economists! believe! neoclassical! theories! are! hardly! suitable! for! developing! countries!
(Myrdal,! 1960).! But! this! school! of! thought! has! been! largely! sidelined! with! the! rise! of!
neoliberalism!in!the!1980s!(Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009).!!
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Classical-SchoolScottish!philosopher!Adam!Smith!(1904)!argued!that!a!nations!economic!growth!
depended! on! capital! accumulation! and! the! division! of! labour,! markets! and! trade.! He!
rejected! state! intervention! and! favoured! selfNregulating! markets.! He! imagined! the!
invisible! hand! of! free! markets! organising! economies! more! efficiently! than! the!
mercantilist!state!of!his!time!that!supported!monopolies!that!distorted!markets.!Smith!
conceptualised! a! capitalist! economy! made! up! of! three! classes! of! people:! capitalists,!
workers! and! landlords.! David! Ricardo,! a! millionaire! trader! himself,! believed! that!

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capitalists! are! the! driver! of! economic! growth! and! thus! deserve! the! greatest! share! of!
national!wealth!(Chang,!2014).!!
Ricardo!(1821)s!theory!of!comparative!advantage!is!also!still!popular!among!free!
trade!advocates!today.!He!had!used!the!example!of!England!and!Portugals!clothNwine!
exchange!at!that!time!to!support!his!claim!that!trade!specialisation!would!lead!to!more!
efficient! international! division! of! labour.! In! reality,! the! unfair! trade! relation! often!
resulted!in!a!surplus!for!Britain!and!a!deficit!for!Portugal!(Sideri,!1970!as!cited!in!Peet!
and!Hartwick,!2009).!Ricardos!trade!theory!serves!to!protect!the!status!quo,!regardless!
if!existing!trade!relations!were!just!(Chang,!2007).!Peet!and!Hartwick!(2009)!remarked!
that! classical! economists! in! the! 18th! and! 19th! century! were! rationalising! capitalist!
development! on! behalf! of! the! British! industrial! capitalists! that! were! revolting! against!
the! monarchy! and! aristocracy,! not! for! factory! workers,! peasants,! women,! people! of!
colour,!or!other!nationalities.!!
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Neoclassical-SchoolNeoclassical! economists! uphold! classical! assumptions! that! economic! actors! are!
inherently! rational,! selfNinterested! and! that! markets! are! selfNequilibrating! (Chang,!
2014).!Yet,!behavioural!economist!Herbert!Simon!(1972)!have!pointed!out!that!besides!
rationality!and!utility,!people!are!also!influenced!by!human!factors!including!emotions!
as!well!as!moral!values!such!as!loyalty!and!fairness!when!making!economic!decisions.!
Italian!economist!Vilfredo!Paretos!welfare!criterion!suggested!that!any!social!change!is!
only!acceptable!if!it!makes!some!peoples!lives!better!without!making!anyone!worse!off!
(Ng,!1984).!Chang!(2014;!p.122)!highlighted!that!the!Pareto!criterion!is!unrealistic:!a!
recipe!to!stick!to!status!quo.!!
This!conservative!bias!in!the!neoclassical!school!was!countered!by!the!emergence!
of! welfare! economics,! better! known! as! the! market! failure! approach,! developed! by!
Arthur!Pigou!in!the!1920s!and!the!compensation!principle!in!the!1930s.!Pigou!(1932!as!
cited!in!Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009)!observed!that!markets!often!failed!to!reflect!the!true!
social!and!environmental!costs!in!the!prices!of!goods!and!services.!Therefore,!the!state!
needs! to! intervene! to! mitigate! the! negative! social! and! environmental! impact! of!
economic! activities! strategically! through! subsidies,! taxes! and! laws.! However,! with! the!
emergence! of! neoliberalism! in! the! 1980s,! most! neoclassical! economists! have! shifted!
back!to!their!minimal!state,!freeNmarket!leaning!stances.!!

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Keynesian-SchoolBritish! economist! John! Keynes! challenged! classical! and! neoclassical! assumptions!

that! markets! would! automatically! adjust! themselves! to! reach! optimal! levels! and!
maximise! social! wellbeing! (Keynes,! 1936).! He! warned! that! unregulated! financial!
markets!are!prone!to!speculations,!booms!and!busts!such!as!the!Great!Depression!and!
the!2008!financial!crisis!(Chang,!2014).!One!of!the!key!features!of!Keynesian!economics!
is!the!use!of!fiscal!and!monetary!policies!such!as!deficit!spending!and!managing!interest!
rates!to!stimulate!economies!and!achieve!high!employment!(Moggridge,!1980!as!cited!
in!Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009).!!
Keynesian!economics!came!into!prominence!in!the!postNwar!period!in!the!1950s!
and!1960s!when!the!Allies!governments!were!under!pressured!to!generate!employment!
opportunities! for! returning! soldiers.! Economic! growth! came! to! be! seen! as! crucial! to!
social!wellbeing.!The!working!class!in!most!Western!European!countries,!Australia!and!
New!Zealand!elected!socialist!governments!that!nationalised!important!industries!and!
began!to!provide!free!social!services!such!as!healthcare!and!education.!The!U.S.!was!the!
only! exception.! It! practiced! military! Keynesian! instead! of! social! Keynesian! and!
sustained!high!growth!rates!primarily!through!state!defence!spending!(Turgeon,!1996!
as!cited!in!Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009).!!
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Neoliberal-SchoolNeoliberal! economists! like! Milton! Friedman! and! Laurence! Summers! shared!
neoclassical!assumptions!that!economic!actors!are!only!interested!in!maximising!utility!
or! profit,! that! free! markets! are! automatically! fair! and! efficient,! therefore! everyone!
gets!paid!what!they!are!worth!(Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009).!Such!assumptions!have!been!
used! to! justify! unfair! wages,! unlimited! accumulation! of! private! wealth! and! rising!
economic! inequality! in! advanced! countries! like! the! U.S.! (Weeks,! 2014).! The! rise! of!
neoliberalism! is! associated! with! the! roll! back! of! the! state! by! the! Margaret! Thatcher!
government!in!Britain!and!the!Ronald!Reagan!administration!in!the!U.S.!in!the!1980s.!!
The!Thatcher!government!privatised!British!state!enterprises,!cut!public!spending!
and! taxes! for! the! rich! (Chang,! 2014).! Reagan! outdid! Thatcher! by! lowering! income! tax!
rates!for!the!rich!as!well!as!cut!housing!subsidies!to!the!poor!and!froze!minimum!wage.!
As!ridiculous!as!it!may!sound,!Reagon!thought!we!have!to!make!the!rich!richer!and!the!
poor!poorer!in!order!to!make!everyone!work!harder.!Neoliberal!thinkers!assumed!that!

7!

when! the! rich! invest! and! spend! more,! it! would! create! more! jobs! and! wealth! would!
automatically! trickle- down! to! the! masses.! But! in! reality,! without! fair! wages! and! state!
redistribution,! wealth! would! become! increasingly! concentrated! in! the! hands! of! a! few.!!
Neoliberal!economists!were!theorising!on!behalf!of!the!rich,!not!the!middle!class!or!the!
poor!(Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009).!!
The!Washington!Consensus!is!the!hallmark!of!the!neoliberal!development!package!
(nis! and! Senses,! 2005).! The! U.S.! treasury,! the! World! Bank! and! the! International!
Monetary! Fund! (IMF)! had! imposed! structural! adjustment! programmes! on! Latin!
American!debtor!countries!in!the!1970s.!Their!typical!policy!recommendations!include!
imposing! fiscal! discipline! (through! public! spending! cuts! on! military,! subsidies,! public!
administration! and! state! enterprises);! privatising! state! enterprises;! financial!
deregulation;!removing!import!tariffs!and!bans;!managing!exchange!rates!to!encourage!
international! trade;! encouraging! foreign! direct! investments;! and! protecting! property!
rights!(Williamson,!1990).!!
The!neoliberal!development!model!spread!from!Latin!America!to!Africa,!Asia!and!
postNcommunist!Eastern!European!countries!in!the!1990s.!Neoliberal!regimes!in!those!
countries! that! favoured! privatisation,! deregulation,! trade! liberalisations! and! welfare!
cuts! tended! to! exacerbate! poverty! and! environmental! degradation! (Haque,! 1999).!
Except!for!Chile,!all!the!other!countries!that!implemented!structural!reforms!suffered!
lower!growth!rates!in!the!1980s!and!1990s!(Chang,!2014).!Countries!that!actually!grew!
their!economies!quickly!during!this!period:!Japan,!South!Korea,!Taiwan!and!Singapore,!
largely! ignored! neoliberal! recommendations! and! used! state! intervention! aggressively!
(Chang,!2002).!Chang!and!Grabel!(2014)!believe!neoliberalism!is!on!the!retreat!as!the!
1997! East! Asian! and! 2008! global! financial! crises! have! strengthened! the! resolve! of!
policymakers! in! the! South! to! pursue! alternative! counterNcyclical! macroeconomic!
policies!such!as!financial!regulation!and!capital!controls.!
!
Overall,! although! mainstream! economists! have! conflicting! opinions! about! the!
roles!of!the!state!and!markets,!most!treat!economic!development!as!a!linear,!stageNtype,!
universal!process!as!articulated!by!Rostow!(1960)!in!The-Stages-of-Economic-Growth:-ANonACommunist- Manifesto.! An! advisor! to! US! presidents! Lyndon! Johnson! and! John! F.!
Kennedy,!Rostow!believed!nonNWestern!countries!must!emulate!the!Wests!experience!
to! become! consumerist! capitalist! societies.! The! limits! of! such! a! simplistic! paradigm! is!

8!

that! high! consumption! societies,! as! envisioned! by! Rostow! as! the! endNstage! of!
development,!have!high!ecological!footprints!yet!do!not!guarantee!wellbeing!and!social!
equality!(Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009).!!
Furthermore,! classical,! neoclassical! and! neoliberal! assumptions! that! are! clearly!
biased!to!the!capitalist!class!have!been!used!to!justified!insatiable!greed!and!unlimited!
accumulation!of!material!wealth!to!the!deprivation!of!the!worlds!majority!populations.!
The! worlds! richest! 85! elites! now! control! as! much! wealth! as! the! poorest! 3.5! billion!
people! according! to! Oxfam! 2014s! report! Working- for- the- Few.! Markets! are! social!
institutions!that!need!fair!rules!and!regulations!to!work!effectively!and!openly!(Polanyi,!
1944).!Otherwise,!richer!states!and!companies!can!easily!manipulate!markets!to!exploit!
poorer!states,!smaller!businesses,!workers,!consumers!and!nature.!Critics!have!pointed!
out! time! and! again! that! persistent! world! poverty! is! primarily! caused! by! unfair!
international! trade! practices! that! have! skewed! distribution! of! the! worlds! resources!
(Sen,! 1982;! Thurow! and! Kilman,! 2009).! Technological! advances! from! industrialised!
societies! are! meaningless! if! it! only! serves! to! concentrate! wealth! in! the! hands! of! a!
rational,!selfNinterested!minority!blind!to!the!worlds!woes!(Weeks,!2014).!!
!
Development!as!Westernisation!
Apart! from! economic! growth,! the! concept! of! development! is! intertwined! with!
modernity! ! a! concept! deeply! rooted! in! European! Enlightenment! notions! of! scientific!
positivism,! rationalism! and! secularism! (Peet! and! Hartwick,! 2009).! Indeed,! terms! like!
developed!and!modern!are!sometimes!used!interchangeably!to!describe!a!society!or!
country! visNNvis! developing! and! modernising,! or! underdeveloped! and!
traditional.! Both! concepts! are! tightly! bound! to! Europe! and! the! U.S.s! capitalist!
industrialisation! in! the! 19th! century.! Although! sociology! had! emerged! as! an! academic!
discipline! at! the! height! of! European! colonialism,! it! has! largely! ignored! the! process! of!
colonisation!(Bhambra,!2007a)!and!slavery!that!had!fed!the!Wests!industrial!appetite.!
Sociologists! such! as! Eisenstadt! (1973)! and! Parsons! (1948;! 1966)! imagined! the!
geography! of! the! world! with! modern,! industrialised! centres! based! in! the! West! and!
traditional! peripheries! in! the! rest! of! the! World! (Hall,! 1992).! Disregarding! colonial!
history,! they! thought! Western! economic! development! came! from! the! growth! of! the!
modern!personality:!rational,!scientific,!urban,!secular!and!formally!educated!(Lerner,!
1958! as! cited! in! Peet! and! Hartwick,! 2009).! Modernisation! theorists! rationalised! that!

9!

Third!World!countries!traditional"!personality:!irrational,!spiritual,!rural!and!illiterate!
populations!impeded!their!own!economic!development!(Scott,!1995).!Colonisation!and!
subsequently!the!development!project!thus!became!the!White!Mans!burden!to!spread!
modernity:!rationality,!science,!technology!and!the!rule!of!law!to!soNcalled!backward!
societies!(Easterly,!2006).!!
The! sociological! theory! of! modernisation! was! constrained! by! racism! and! its!
proponents! geopolitical! imagination! (Slater,! 1992).! The! postNwar! period! gave! rise! to!
the!discourse!of!the!three!worlds,!with!the!First!World!representing!capitalist!countries,!
Second!World!communist!countries!and!the!Third!World!of!newly!independent,!neutral!
nations.!The!Third!World!was!a!postcolonial!project!containing!the!aspiration!of!diverse!
populations! in! former! colonies! in! Asia,! Africa! and! Latin! America! for! a! fairer! world!
economy! and! global! politics! (Prashad,! 2007).! But! under! the! Western! hegemonic! gaze,!
the!Third!World!has!been!reduced!to!a!homogenous,!inferior!category!that!should!copy!
First!Worlds!capitalist!development.!!
In! response! to! these! criticisms,! modernisation! theory! subsequently! gave! way! to!
concepts! like! multiple! modernities! (Eisenstadt,! 2000)! and! entangled! modernities!
(Therborn,! 2003)! and! alternative! modernities.! Despite! that,! European! modernity!
continues! to! be! held! as! the! ideal! type! to! be! compared! with! other! forms! of! modernity!
(Bhambra,! 2010).! I! agree! with! Bhambra! (2007b)! that! the! idea! of! modernity! must! be!
reconstructed!based!on!the!connected!histories!of!the!colonisers!view!from!above!and!
the! colonised! peoples! view! from! below,! rather! than! the! disaggregated,! romantic!
narrative!of!the!European!miracle!(Weber,!1930).!I!will!elaborate!in!the!last!section!of!
this!chapter!how!this!connected!histories!approach!to!the!understanding!of!modernity!
can!benefit!the!reconstruction!of!development.!!
!
PostNDevelopment!
While!mainstream!economists!and!modernisation!theorists!see!development!as!a!
source!of!progress,!postNdevelopment!thinkers!in!the!1990s!reject!it!entirely!to!look!for!
alternatives! (Rahnema! and! Bawtree,! 1997).! Drawing! from! postmodernisms! and! postN
colonialisms! critiques! of! European! modernity,! postNdevelopment! theory! attacks! the!
development!enterprise!as!a!form!of!Western!imperialism.!PostNdevelopment!theorists!
share! their! disillusionment! in! modern! metanarratives! like! development,! progress! and!
truth!with!postmodernists!such!as!Michel!Foucault!(Lyotard,!1984!as!cited!in!Peet!and!

10!

Hartwick,! 2009).! Foucault! (1972;! 1980)! posited! that! modern! states! exercise! their!
power! to! control! populations! through! expert! discourses! in! the! social! sciences,!
particularly!economics,!political!science,!sociology,!geography!and!anthropology.!These!
social! experts! establish! the! truth,! or! more! accurately! biased! ideologies,! about!
modernity!and!progress!to!help!the!ruling!elites!keep!supposedly!educated!and!rational!
populations!productive!but!subordinated.!!
Expanding! on! Foucaults! theory,! postNdevelopment! theorists! suggested! that!
Western! aid! agencies! and! international! institutions! such! as! the! World! Bank! and! IMF!
have! been! employing! a! grand! development! discourse! to! impose! its! own! development!
criteria!and!capitalist!versions!of!modernity!on!the!Third!World!(Sachs,!1992;!Escobar,!
1995).! In! the! process,! ancient,! indigenous! cultures! and! philosophies! have! been!
subverted.!PostNdevelopment!theorists!advocate!for!the!revival!of!indigenous!expertise.!
They!also!introduced!the!use!of!discourse!analysis!to!scrutinise!the!history!of!ideas!and!
discourses!in!development!studies!(Crush,!1995).!!
Although!I!am!also!employing!discourse!analysis!for!this!research,!I!disagree!with!
postNdevelopment! theorists! wholesale! rejection! of! development.! PostNdevelopment!
thinkers! have! ignored! the! real! gains! that! economic! development! has! achieved! in!
poverty!reduction,!healthcare!and!education!in!newly!industrialising!countries,!known!
as! the! NICs,! such! as! South! Korea,! Japan,! Taiwan,! Singapore! in! the! 1980s! and! now! in!
Malaysia,! Indonesia,! China,! South! Africa,! Brazil,! Argentina,! Chile! and! so! forth.!
Development! encompasses! the! aspirations! of! diverse! populations! to! liberate!
themselves!from!economic,!political!and!social!oppression.!Its!normative!meaning!could!
and! have! indeed! been! subjected! to! abuse! by! state! and! nonNstate! actors.! However,!
critical! academics! and! the! people! affected! have! always! contested! dominant!
development!discourse!through!counter!discourses!rooted!in!their!real!life!struggle!to!
reclaim!the!meaning!of!these!terms!(Chambers,!1995;!Chang!and!Grabel,!2014).!!
Social!scientists!must!continue!to!scrutinise!not!just!the!doublespeak!and!flaws!in!
dominant! discourses! of! development,! but! the! economic! and! political! institutional!
practices!that!have!given!rise!to!disparaging!economic!inequalities!between!the!Global!
North! and! South,! and! across! different! class,! gender! and! ethnic! groups! within! nations.!
We!do!a!disservice!to!the!marginalised!in!Northern!countries!when!we!exclude!them!in!
development!(Jones,!2000;!Sheppard!and!Nagar,!2004).!I!will!now!move!on!to!discuss!
critical! contentions! of! mainstream! development! theories! that! postNdevelopment!

11!

thinkers!often!disregarded!in!their!attempts!to!formulate!a!single!imperial!discourse!of!
development.!!
!
Development!as!Emancipation!
Marxist!dependency!theorists!have!highlighted!in!the!1960s!that!it!was!impossible!
for! postcolonial! countries! to! industrialise! and! accumulate! national! wealth! like! First!
World!countries!through!imperialism.!They!observed!that!the!global!capitalist!economy!
was!biased!towards!the!First!World!centre,!which!exploited!and!kept!the!Third!World!
periphery! poor! (Dos! Santos,! 1970).! Therefore,! they! believe! Third! World! countries!
should! remove! themselves! from! the! world! market! to! develop! their! own! economy! like!
Cuba! (Frank,! 1966).! However,! dependency! theorists! have! failed! to! explain! rapid!
economic!development!in!the!newly!industrialising!countries!in!Asia!in!the!1980s!and!
South!America!at!present.!Classical!Marxist!Robert!Brenner!(1977;!1985!as!cited!in!Peet!
and! Hartwick,! 2009)! pointed! out! that! dependency! theorists! have! underestimated!
capitalist! economies! unique! ability! to! encourage! technological! progress! and! increase!
labour!productivity!to!drive!economic!development.!!
Yet! capitalist! economic! development! does! not! always! improve! social! wellbeing.!
Marxism! remains! relevant! today! for! its! sharp! critique! of! the! impact! of! unfettered!
capitalism! and! unequal! class! relations.! Without! strong! labour! laws! and! state!
redistribution!of!wealth,!profits!derived!from!the!working!classs!surplus!labour!would!
become! concentrated! in! the! hands! of! a! few.! Thus! income! inequality! rose! during!
industrialisation! in! the! U.S.! and! Europe! (Kuznets,! 1955).! But! East! Asian! governments!
were!able!to!avoid!increasing!poverty!during!industrialisation!by!reinvesting!the!wealth!
generated! from! economic! growth! to! provide! free,! quality! education,! healthcare! and!
other! public! services! to! their! populations! (Stiglitz,! 1996).! To! these! countries,! that! is!
what!development!is!really!about:!material!prosperity!and!social!wellbeing.!!
On!the!other!hand,!feminists!have!contended!since!the!1970s!that!major!schools!of!
economic! thought! and! modernisation! theory! have! failed! to! take! into! account! gender!
discrimination! when! conceptualising! development! goals! (Peet! and! Hartwick,! 2009).!
Unequal! power! relations! between! men! and! women,! to! different! degrees! across! the!
world,! continue! to! prevent! women! from! enjoying! equal! access! to! natural! resources,!
capital,!education,!employment,!fair!wages!or!leadership!positions!in!politics,!corporate!
boardrooms! and! religion! (Young,! 2002).! Culturally! embedded! notions! of! masculinity!

12!

and!femininity!have!continued!to!be!used!to!rationalise!sexual!division!of!labour!or!to!
restrict! women! in! the! private,! domestic! sphere.! Nonetheless,! feminists! have! warned!
against! treating! women! as! a! homogeneous! category! because! different! women,!
depending! on! class,! marital! status,! age,! race! or! ethnicity,! religion! and! nationality,! face!
different!degrees!and!forms!of!discrimination!(Young,!1979).!!
Sen! and! Grown! (1987! as! cited! in! Peet! and! Hartwick,! 2009)! believed! poor!
oppressed!women!offer!the!best!view!from!below!of!the!effectiveness!of!development!
policies! and! programmes:! their- aspirations! and! struggles! for! a! future! free! of! the!
multiple!oppressions!of!gender,!race,!and!nationcan!form!the!basis!for!the!new!visions!
and!strategies!that!the!world!now!needs.!If!development!is!not!just!about!accumulating!
national! wealth,! but! liberation! from! economic,! gender,! racial! or! ethnic! and! cultural!
oppression,!then!international!and!national!development!policies!must!always!put!the!
aspirations,!needs!and!capabilities!of!oppressed!workers,!peasants,!women,!indigenous!
people,!migrants!and!refugees!first!(Chambers,!1983;!1997).!!
In! addition,! colonisation! and! industrialisation! have! also! destroyed! many!
indigenous! societies! previously! harmonious! relationships! with! nature.! Most!
postcolonial! countries! have! inherited! the! colonial! legacy! to! treat! environmental!
conservation! and! economic! development! as! a! zero! sum! game! (Adams! and! Mulligan,!
2002).!Nature!is!viewed!as!capital!to!be!exploited!through!technology!and!pollution!an!
inevitable! side! effect! of! industrialisation.! To! take! a! connected! histories! approach!
would! require! us! to! reconstruct! our! understanding! of! modernity! and! development!
based! on! the! full! extent! of! the! social! and! environmental! cost! of! global! capitalist!
industrialisation!now!known!to!us.!!
The!birth!of!modern,!industrialised!societies!was!built!not!just!on!the!noble!quest!
for! reason,! truth,! scientific! and! technological! progress,! but! also! on! the! exploitation! of!
the!working!class,!colonised!people!and!nature.!If!we!were!to!reconstruct!development!
as! building! an! egalitarian,! environmentally! sustainable! economy! and! society,! then!
clearly! even! industrialised! capitalist! societies! are! not! developed! but! merely!
developing! economies! that! require! further! transformation.! Current! industrialised,!
consumerist! societies,! even! if! technologically! advanced,! should! not! be! upheld! as! the!
pinnacle!of!modern!society!in!global!development!discourse.!Be!it!in!the!U.S.,!Western!
European! countries,! Australia! or! Japan,! these! soNcalled! developed,! highNincome!

13!

nations!have!trapped!themselves!in!a!pattern!of!overconsumption!and!are!struggling!to!
move!on!to!become!equitable,!sustainable,!lowNcarbon!societies.!!
If!development!is!a!form!of!social!imagination!(Peet!and!Hartwick,!2009),!low!and!
middleNincome! countries! from! the! postcolonial! world! must! learn! from! these!
industrialised! countries! mistakes.! There! is! no! oneNsizeNfitNall! development! model.! We!
have! to! breakaway! from! simplistic! assumptions! that! equate! development! with!
economic! growth,! modernisation,! industrialisation! and! urbanisation! without!
consideration! for! cultural! diversity,! social! equality! and! ecological! limits.! Equitable,!
sustainable!development!will!require!imaginative,!humble!policymakers.!Development!
plans! and! practices! must! be! tailored! to! meet! not! just! the! material! needs! of! diverse!
groups,! but! their! aspirations! for! political,! economic! and! social! emancipation! as! well.!
Thus,! the! ways! to! balance! economic,! social! and! environmental! sustainability! in!
development! will! inevitably! vary! for! each! country.! In! the! next! chapter,! I! will! examine!
the! relevance! of! different! conceptions! of! development! to! Malaysias! development!
discourse.!!
!
!
!
!

14!

!Chapter!3!Discourse!of!Development!in!Malaysia!
!
Discourse! analysis! focuses! on! revealing! power! relations! and! inequalities!
underlying!representations!of!people!and!the!world!in!texts!and!speeches!(Blommaert!
and!Bulcaen,!2000).!It!is!difficult!to!codify!the!practice!of!discourse!analysis.!However,!
Widdicombe!(1993;!p.97)!has!suggested!looking!for!narratives!that!are!being!presented!
as! a! solution! to! a! problem! or! to! present! one! version! of! the! world! in! the! face! of!
competing! versions! (Gill,! 2000;! p.176! as! cited! in! Bryman,! 2004).! Social! researchers!
should!then!seek!to!uncover!the!purpose!behind!the!construction!and!circulation!of!the!
said!discourse!in!society.!!
As! I! have! discussed! in! the! previous! chapter,! development! is! a! term! laden! with!
ideological! assumptions! about! how! governments! and! economies! should! function! and!
how! we! should! lead! our! lives! in! modern! societies.! Unlike! postSdevelopment! scholars!
who! are! mainly! concerned! with! Western! aid! agencies! development! discourse,! I! am!
interested! in! the! discourses! a! national! government! deploys! to! justify! its! development!
policies.! What! discourses! are! used! to! frame! development! and! its! challenges?! What!
solutions! are! proposed! to! overcome! them?! Do! they! reflect! conventional! or! critical!
conceptions!in!global!discourses!of!development?!Which!groups!are!represented!in!the!
discourses?! How! are! they! represented?! Which! groups! are! not! represented?! In! this!
chapter,! I! will! use! discourse! analysis! to! investigate! the! assumptions,! metaphors,!
narratives! and! facts! that! the! ruling! government! in! Malaysia,! which! has! been! in! power!
for!over!half!a!century,!uses!to!rationalise!its!recent!national!development!policies.!!!
!
Malaysias!Development!History!
To!put!my!discourse!analysis!in!context,!I!will!try!to!summarise!the!key!events!in!
history!that!have!shaped!Malaysias!political!and!socioSeconomic!development.!Malaysia!
is!made!up!of!a!federation!of!13!former!British!colonial!states!in!Southeast!Asia.!Eleven!
of!its!western!states,!then!collectively!known!as!Malaya,!attained!independence!in!1957.!
Both!the!eastern!states!of!Sarawak!and!Sabah!in!Borneo!gained!independence!in!1963!
(Figure! 1,! next! page).! Malaya,! Sabah,! Sarawak! and! Singapore! came! together! to! form!
Malaysia! on! 16! September! 1963! but! Singapore! was! expelled! in! 1965! due! to! conflicts!
between!the!dominant!political!parties!in!Malaya!and!Singapore!(Milne,!1966).!!
!

15!

Figure!1:!States!of!Malaysia!(Source:!MyMalaysiabooks.com,!2012)!
British! colonial! rule! had! radically! transformed! Malayas! landscape! and!
demographics! (Sani,! 1993).! Before! the! arrival! of! the! British,! Malaya! was! made! up! of!
ethnic! Malays! and! 18! subSethnic! groups! of! Orang( Asli! (original! people! in! the! Malay!
language)! who! were! mostly! engaged! in! a! subsistence! economy! including! planting!
paddy,!vegetables,!fruits,!fishing,!collecting!jungle!produce!or!trading.!With!the!arrival!of!
the! British,! large! tracts! of! forests! were! cut! down! to! make! way! for! rubber! estates! that!
doubled! from! 1,125,000! acres! in! 1910! to! 2,475,000! acres! in! 1920! (Jackson,! 1961).!
Thousands!of!cheap!contract!labourers!were!brought!in!from!China!and!India!to!work!in!
the! plantations! and! tin! mines.! Consequently,! British! Malaya! attained! the! highest! perS
capita!GDP!in!Asia!in!1929!(Drabble,!2000!as!cited!in!Hirschman,!2001).!By!1954,!there!
were!708!tin!mines!in!Malaya.!Although!the!Chinese!owned!600!of!them,!the!EuropeanS
owned! tin! mines! with! superior! technology! produced! nearly! 62! per! cent! of! the! total!
output!(Puthucheary,!1979).!!
!At! the! time! of! Malayas! independence,! the! Malay! population! only! slightly!
outnumbered! the! migrant! Chinese! and! Indian! populations! (Table! 1).! The! average!
household! incomes! of! the! Chinese! and! Indians! were! double! that! of! the! Malays.! The!
Table!1:!Ethnic!population!and!average!household!income!in!Malaya!in!1957!
!
Population!(%)!

Malays!

Chinese!

Indians!

49.8!

37.2!

11.7!

Average!household!income!
139!
237!
300!
(RM/month)!
(Source:!Department!of!Statistics,!Kuala!Lumpur;!Snodgrass,!1980!as!cited!in!Sani,!1993)!
!

16!

colonial!government!had!practiced!a!policy!of!divide!and!rule.!The!Malays!were!largely!
confined!to!the!civil!service!or!subsistence!farming!whereas!the!Chinese!ran!shops!and!
businesses! and! the! Indians! worked! in! plantations.! Language! posed! a! major! barrier! to!
integration!as!well.!In!1957,!merely!3%!of!the!Chinese!and!5%!of!the!Indian!population!
above!age!10!said!they!were!literate!in!Malay!(Fell,!1960!as!cited!in!Hirshman,!1975).!!
In! the! early! years! of! independence,! the! state! focused! on! diversifying! the!
agriculture! sector! and! on! import! substitution! to! reduce! reliance! on! tin! and! rubber!
exports!(Sani,!1993).!The!economy!grew!at!an!average!of!6%!annually!in!the!1960s!yet!
the! rural! and! urban! household! income! gap! widened! and! unemployment! rose! to! 8%!
(Mat! Zin,! 2014).! InterSethnic! income! disparities! narrowed! only! slightly! while! intraS
ethnic! inequalities! increased! especially! among! the! Malays! between! 1957! and! 1970.!
Poverty!remained!widespread!and!real!income!in!the!poorest!20%!households,!mostly!
rural!Malays,!plunged!40%!despite!low!inflation!rates!(Gomez!and!Jomo,!1999).!
!The! governments! laissezSfaire! development! policy! had! failed! to! address!
structural!inequalities!in!the!economy.!Foreigners!still!controlled!62%!of!the!shares!in!
limited! companies! while! the! Chinese! owned! 22.5%,! the! Malays! 1.9%! and! the! Indians!
less!than!1.0%!in!1970!(Hirschman,!1975).!Consequently,!ethnic!tensions!increased!and!
public!resentment!grew!towards!the!ruling!coalition,!then!known!as!the!Alliance.!During!
the! 1969! general! elections,! the! Alliance! retained! a! simple! majority! in! Parliament! but!
lost!the!states!of!Penang!and!Kelantan!to!opposition!parties!(Drummond!and!Hawkins,!
1970).!Had!the!opposition!parties!combined!to!form!a!coalition,!the!Alliance!might!have!
lost!two!more!states.!!
The! worse! ethnic! violence! in! Malaysian! history! subsequently! broke! out! in! the!
national! capital,! Kuala! Lumpur,! on! 13! May! 1969! and! later! in! a! few! other! towns.! The!
Alliance!government!blamed!gangs!and!communist!elements!for!exploiting!heightened!
ethnic!tensions!to!instigate!the!riots!(NOC,!1969).!The!official!death!toll!was!196:!143!
Chinese,! 25! Malays,! 13! Indians! and! 15! unidentifiable! bodies.! Some! 439! people! were!
injured,! 6,000! made! homeless! and! hundreds! of! vehicles! and! buildings! were! torched!
(Beh,! 2007).! A! state! of! emergency! was! declared,! elections! were! halted! and! the!
Parliament! suspended.! To! prevent! ethnic! riots! from! recurring,! the! state! launched! the!
New! Economic! Policy! (NEP)! that! had! farSreaching! consequences! for! Malaysias! socioS
economic!development.!
!

17!

New(Economic(Policy((197191990)(
The! NEPs! main! theme! was! growth! with! equity! (Tan,! 2014).! It! had! two! core!
objectives:! to! eradicate! poverty! regardless! of! ethnicity,! and! to! restructure! society! to!
eliminate!ethnic!identification!with!economic!function!(EPU,!2013).!To!achieve!its!first!
goal,!the!state!invested!substantially!in!education,!healthcare!and!created!more!jobs!in!
the! civil! service.! It! also! attracted! foreign! investments! to! the! labourSintensive!
manufacturing! sector,! especially! in! electrical! and! electronics,! and! textiles! (Mat! Zin,!
2014).!Poverty!decreased!as!rural!educated!labour,!including!Malay!women,!migrated!to!
work!in!urban!areas!and!sent!their!earnings!back!to!rural!households.!!
To!reduce!interSethnic!economic!disparities,!the!state!also!enforced!quotas!for!the!
Bumiputera! in! admissions! to! public! universities,! scholarship! grants! and! government!
procurement.! Bumiputera,! which! means! sons! of! the! soil! in! the! Malay! language,!
included!the!Malays,!the!Orang(Asli!and!indigenous!groups!of!Sabah!and!Sarawak.!As!a!
result,!the!incidence!of!poverty!fell!from!52.5%!to!16.5%!between!1970!and!1989!(Nair,!
2010).! The! income! ratio! between! the! Bumiputera! and! the! Chinese! also! declined! from!
1:2.54! to! 1:1.74! in! the! same! period! (Gulam! Hassan! and! Tan,! 2012).! The! NEP! has!
successfully!created!a!Malay!middle!class,!including!millionaires,!as!Malaysia!became!a!
middleSincome!economy!in!1992!(Pepinsky,!2013;!Ramli!et(al,!2013!as!cited!in!Lean!and!
Smyth,!2014).!!
The!National!Development!Policy!(1991S2000)!and!National!Vision!Policy!(2001S
2010)! that! succeeded! the! NEP! had! largely! maintained! the! same! approach! to!
development.!Despite!recessions!in!the!midS1980s!and!early!2000s,!the!1997!East!Asian!
crisis!and!the!2008!global!financial!crisis,!the!countrys!GDP!grew!at!an!average!of!7%!
annually! between! 1960! and! 2012! (Lean! and! Smyth,! 2014).! However,! the! NEP! had!
entrenched! a! rent! seeking! and! entitlement! culture! among! the! elites! in! the! ruling!
coalition!Barisan!Nasional!(National!Front![BN]),!the!successor!of!the!Alliance.!The!BN!is!
largely! made! up! of! ethnicSbased! political! parties! led! by! the! United! Malays! National!
Organisation! (UMNO).! Government! contracts! have! been! awarded! through! obscure!
procurement!process!to!corporate!and!political!elites!close!to!or!within!the!ranks!of!BN!
and!especially!UMNO!(Ramli!et(al,!2013,!Hill!et(al,!2012).!!
With!wealth!concentrated!in!the!hands!of!the!elite,!the!Gini!coefficient!within!the!
Malay! community! increased! from! 0.342! to! 0.428! between! 1957! and! 1990,! and!
continued!to!rise!to!0.440!in!2009!(Wan!Saiful,!2011;!EPU,!2010).!Public!disillusionment!

18!

against!the!ruling!coalition!grew!especially!among!urban!voters!across!the!ethnic!divide,!
resulting!in!the!BNs!worst!electoral!performance!in!2008.!Although!it!retained!control!
of!the!Parliament,!the!former!Prime!Minister!Abdullah!Ahmad!Badawi!was!pressured!to!
step!down!in!2009.!!
Since! the! current! Prime! Minister! Najib! Abdul! Razaks! ascendance! to! power! in!
2009,! he! has! rolled! out! a! series! of! reformist! measures! to! achieve! the! governments!
target! of! becoming! a! developed! country! by! 2020! (NEAC,! 2010a).! These! include! the!
1Malaysia!concept!(Noor,!2013;!Chin,!2010),!the!New!Economic!Model!(NEM),!the!10th!
Malaysia! Plan! (10MP)! and! the! Government! Transformation! Programme! (Siddiquee,!
2014).! My! discourse! analysis! will! be! based! primarily! on! the! texts! of! the! NEM! and! the!
10MP! for! they! set! out! the! Najibs! administrations! core! development! policies.! I! will!
critically! examine! the! development! discourse! used! to! justify! these! policies! in! the! next!
section.!
!
A!Critique!of!the!States!Development!Discourse!
Najib! had! set! up! the! National! Economic! Advisory! Council! (NEAC)! to! prepare! the!
NEM!that!was!supposed!to!replace!the!NEP.!The!council!had!been!dissolved!in!2011!so!it!
is!uncertain!how!committed!his!administration!still!is!to!this!new!development!model.!
The!10th!MP,!a!fiveSyear!national!development!plan!prepared!by!the!Economic!Planning!
Unit!(EPU)!under!the!Prime!Ministers!Department!in!2010,!thus!serves!as!a!useful!point!
of!comparison!as!it!is!supposed!to!put!the!NEMs!ideals!into!practice.!!
!
Obsession(with(economic(growth(
Both! the! NEM! and! the! 10MP! described! Malaysia! as! being! caught! in! the! middleS
income!trap!(NEAC,!2010a,!p.7;!EPU,!2010,!p.3).!Here,!development!is!conceptualised!
as! a! linear,! stageStype! process.! The! states! development! discourse! accepts! Malaysias!
position! as! a! developing! country! in! the! world.! In! order! to! become! a! developed!
nation,!it!is!taken!for!granted!that!Malaysia!must!surpass!the!USD15,!000!GNP!per!capita!
threshold!set!by!the!World!Bank!(The!Malaysian!Insider,!2014).!The!10MP!warned!that:!
Many!developing!countries!are!fast!catching!up,!and!Malaysia!risked!being!squeezed!
in!the!middle!between!growing!developing!nations!at!one!end!and!by!developed!nations!
expanding!into!new!markets!at!the!other!end!(EPU,!2010,!p.2!&!p.5).!!

19!

The!10MP!claimed!that!Malaysia!must!accept!and!embrace!the!rules!of!the!game!
in!terms!of!global!competition!and!must!not!withdraw!from!the!relentless!pursuit!of!
global!competiveness!and!economic!growth!(Ibid,!p.9).!The!country!is!said!to!be!on!a!
burning! platform! due! to! intense! competition! in! the! global! capitalist! race! for! infinite!
economic! wealth.! The! question! of! ecological! limits! is! obscured! in! this! discourse.!
Furthermore,! the! people! are! reduced! to! a! human! capital! (Ibid,! p.192)! that! must!
become!more!innovative,!productive!and!efficient!in!order!for!the!country!to!reach!
highSincome! status! (see! Figure! 2).! Thus,! the! 10MP! dedicated! an! entire! chapter! on! the!
governments!plan!to!develop!a!FirstSWorld!talent!base!to!transform!Malaysia!into!a!
knowledgeSintensive,!highSincome!economy!(Ibid,!p.192S348).!
!
10MP!(Chapter!1S7)!

HighSincome!nation!

NEM!(Part!1&2)!

60!

2!
22!
16!

Developed!country!
Innovation!

141!
94!

Efmiciency!

87!

Productivity!
75!

Sustainability!
34!

Inclusivity!
Equality!

7!

154!

119!
107!
133!

80!

43!

Figure!2:!A!comparison!of!the!number!of!times!selected!key!terms!!
are!mentioned!in!the!NEM!and!the!10MP!
!
In!comparison,!the!NEM!adopted!a!softer!tone!for!sustainable!growth.!The!NEM!
had! reflected! significant! shifts! from! past! development! policies! for! its! threeSpronged!
focus!on!growth,!inclusiveness!and!sustainability!(Figure!3,!next!page).!It!acknowledged!

20!

that!Malaysias!economic!growth!has!come!at!considerable!environmental!cost!and!has!
not! benefited! all! segments! of! the! population! (NEAC,! 2010a,! p.4).! It! stated! that! equal!
emphasis!must!be!placed!on!both!protection!of!the!environment!and!economic!growth.!
Its! definition! of! sustainable! growth,! which! is! to! [meet]! the! onSgoing! needs! of! the!
population! without! compromising! future! generations! (Ibid,! p.11),! echoed! the! 1987!
Brundtland! reports! definition! of!
sustainable! development.! Indeed,!
other!

governments!

have!

also!

adopted! the! three! overlapping!

circles!

to!

present!

development!

sustainable!

(Connelly,!

2007).!

However,!this!masked!the!tradeSoffs!
policymakers! must! consider! in!
balancing! economic,! social! and!
environmental!

sustainability!

in!

development.! How! would! we! know!

if!

Malaysias!

consumption!

production!

and!

patterns!

are!

Figure!3:!The!NEMs!goals!!
(Rakyat!means!people!in!Malay)!!
(Source:!NEAC,!2010a)!

sustainable! when! there! is! a! severe!

lack!of!research!into!the!limits!of!our!
ecological!systems!(Hezri,!2011)?!!

The!NEM!noted!that!as!one!of!the!top!17!megaSbiologically!diverse!countries!in!the!
world,! Malaysia! must! preserve! its! natural! forests! and! marine! reefs.! It! also! attributed!
excess! consumption! and! waste! as! the! cause! of! global! environmental! woes,!
highlighting!that!profound!changes!in!lifestyle!and!stewardship!of!nature!are!needed!
(NEAC,!2010a,!p.69).!Despite!that,!it!fell!short!of!addressing!the!most!critical!question!
that! needs! to! be! asked! in! the! quest! for! sustainable! development:! How! does! Malaysia!
plan! to! avoid! the! pitfall! of! becoming! a! highSconsumption! society! with! all! the!
environmental!problems!that!ensues,!as!it!seeks!to!become!a!highSincome!nation?!The!
NEM! promoted! investments! in! green! technologies,! responsible! management! of!
Malaysias! energy! and! water! resources,! sustainable! and! organic! agriculture,! and! ecoS
tourism! (Ibid).! It! is! thus! assumed! that! these! measures! are! sufficient! to! ensure!

21!

Malaysias! appetite! for! infinite! economic! growth! does! not! break! global,! national! and!
local!ecological!limits!when!in!reality,!nobody!knows!this!for!sure.!
!
Negotiating(Equality(and(Inclusivity(
Concerns! over! interSethnic! economic! disparities! have! long! overshadowed!
problems! of! class! and! gender! inequalities! in! the! states! development! discourse! in!
Malaysia.! The! NEM! marked! an! attempt! to! conceptualise! economic! and! social! equality!
more! holistically.! It! wrote:! It! is! important! to! remember! that! a! community! can! be!
divided! not! only! by! ethnicity! but! also! by! class,( occupation,( age,( regional( location( and(
numerous( other( waysThe! notion! of! a! singular! identity! overriding! the! rest! can! be!
misleading!and!dangerous!(NEAC,!2010a,!p.89,!emphasis!mine).!Thus!it!advocated!for!
marketSfriendly! affirmation! action! programmes! that! should! be! implemented!
transparently,! based! on! needs! and! merit! to! discourage! rentSseeking! and! patronage!
activities! (Ibid,! p.10S11).! MarketSfriendly! affirmation! action! might! sounds! like! an!
oxymoron! to! classical,! neoclassical! and! neoliberal! economists.! But! the! NEM! had!
attempted!to!take!a!more!nuanced!stance!by!taking!into!account!the!need!to!level!the!
playing!field!for!marginalised!groups.!It!reasoned:!
!
Excessive! use! of! ethnic! quotas! has! descended! into! acceptance! of! less!
qualified! recipients! and! bred! inefficiencyRentSseekers! are! engaged! in!
unproductive! activities! and! can! add! sizeably! to! the! cost! of! doing! business.!
They!are!closely!associated!with!the!growth!of!bribery!and!corruption!in!the!
economyMarkets,!however,!can!at!times!malfunction!with!or!without!any!
form! of! affirmative! action.! Monopolies! and! collusions! can! hinder! efficient!
market! function.! Excessive! risk! taking! can! lead! to! crises.! Markets! can! fail!
when!manipulated!by!interest!groups!that!covertly!seek!to!maximise!their!
own! interest.! In! such! cases! government! intervention! is! necessary! to!
regulate! and! correct! the! failures.! However,! government! intervention! can!
also!exacerbate!market!failure.!Excessive!protection!for!reasons!other!than!
affirmative!action!can!contribute!to!market!distortions.!The!market!friendly!
affirmative!action!in!the!NEM!advocates!the!use!of!transparent!procedures!
and!criteria!to!promote!capacity!building!and!the!elimination!of!approaches!
that!contribute!to!rentSseeking!behaviour.!(Ibid,!p.135S136)!

22!

Thus,!the!NEM!used!the!need!to!create!a!fair!and!competitive!economy!to!argue!against!
state!interventions!that!have!benefited!mostly!elites!close!to!the!ruling!government.!It!
does! not! argue! for! the! complete! removal! of! state! intervention! but! for! them! to! be!
redirected! to! the! poorest! 40%! population,! of! which! 73%! are! still! Bumiputera.! It!
highlighted!that!the!income!gap!between!the!top!20%!households!in!Malaysia!and!the!
bottom!40%!have!widened!significantly!since!the!1990s!(Figure!4).!Most!importantly,!it!
stressed!that!the!state!must!have!the!political!will!and!leadership!to!break!the!logSjam!
of!resistance!by!vested!interest!groups!(Ibid,!p.16)!to!implement!reforms!to!eliminate!
rentSseeking!and!patronage!activities.!

Figure!4:!Growth!of!national!household!income!between!1980N2008!!!
(Source:!Malaysia!Development!Institute!as!cited!in!NEAC,!2010a)!
!
In!comparison,!the!10MP!did!not!live!up!to!the!ideals!of!the!NEM.!While!adopting!
the!rhetoric!of!helping!the!bottom!40%!households,!it!retained!an!overt!focus!on!interS
ethnic!economic!inequality!in!its!discourse,!especially!between!the!Bumiputera!and!the!
nonSBumiputera( (Figure! 5,! next! page).! Thus! it! continues! to! obscure! class! and! gender!
inequalities!that!cut!across!the!ethnic!divide.!Despite!four!decades!of!affirmative!action,!
the!poverty!rates!among!the!natives!in!East!Malaysia!and!the!Orang(Asli!remain!much!
higher! than! the! general! population:! at! 6.4%! in! Sarawak,! 22.8%! in! Sabah! and! a!

23!

whopping!50%!among!the!Orang(Asli(communities!in!2009!(EPU,!2010,!p.162).!Many!of!
these! indigenous! villages! still! live! without! access! to! basic! necessities! including! power!
supply! and! sanitation! that! the! general! population! takes! for! granted! (Nair,! 2010).! The!
Bumiputera! development! agenda! rings! hollow! for! these! communities! who! feel! they!
have!been!treated!as!secondSclass!or!thirdSclass!citizens!by!the!state!(Ibrahim,!2013).!!
10MP!(Chapter!1S7)!

NEM!(Part!1&2)!
21!

Bottom!40%/poor!!households!
Bumiputera!
Orang!Asli!

101!

32!
14!

0!

Chinese!

2!

Indian!

2!

Women!

35!

11!
8!

24!

47!

Figure!5:!A!comparison!of!the!mentions!selected!social!groups!received!!
in!the!NEM!&!the!10MP!
!
The!presentation!of!the!Bumiputera(community!as!a!homogenous!group!obscured!
the!different!needs!of!the!Malays,!the!Orang(Asli!and!the!natives!of!Sabah!and!Sarawak.!
In!the!states!urbanScentric!modernisation!discourse,!there!is!no!place!for!rural!natives!
who!wish!to!retain!their!traditional!ways!of!life.!They!stood!in!the!way!of!development!
(Aiken! and! Leigh,! 2011).! Just! as! the! First! World! had! tried! to! impose! its! own!
development! vision! on! the! Third! World! through! the! modernisation! discourse,! the!
Malaysian! government! has! been! imposing! its! own! development! vision! on! the! natives!
(Nicholas,! 1989).! In! the! name! of! development,! it! took! away! vast! tracts! of! the! natives!
customary!land!for!logging,!to!build!dams,!highways!and!create!largeSscale!plantations!
(Idrus,! 2013)! while! it! continues! to! be! deaf! to! the! natives! demand! for! recognition! of!
their!land!rights.!In!this!way,!the!states!BumuputeraScentric(development!discourse!in!

24!

the!10MP!continues!to!legitimise!the!marginalisation!of!the!natives!even!as!it!claimed!to!
strive!for!their!emancipation.!!
Besides! that,! the! construction! of! the! nonSBumiputera! as! a! homogenous! category!
also! hides! class! and! gender! disparities! within! the! group.! Consequently,! the! poorest!
among!Indians,!predominantly!estate!workers!(Ramachandran!and!Shanmugan,!1995),!
and! poverty! in! Chinese! New! Villages! received! only! brief! mentions! in! the! 10MP! (EPU,!
2010,! p.164).! Refugees! residing! in! Malaysia! including! children! and! women! who! are!
vulnerable!to!exploitation!by!the!state!itself!(Kaur,!2007)!are!entirely!missing!from!the!
states!inclusive!development!discourse!(EPU,!2010,!p.144S188).!The!two!million!lowS
skill! migrant! workers! from! Indonesia,! Cambodia,! Bangladesh,! Nepal! and! more,! toiling!
for! low! wages! in! the! countrys! construction,! plantation! and! services! sectors! are! now!
viewed!as!a!hindrance!to!Malaysias!quest!to!develop!highSvalueSadded!industries.!The!
NEM! and! the! 10MP! stressed! that! Malaysia! must! reduce! its! overSreliance! on! foreign!
labour! which! had! depressed! wages! for! locals.! But! it! remained! unclear! how! the! state!
plans!to!remove!these!migrant!workers!who!have!contributed!and!are!still!contributing!
to!Malaysias!economic!growth.!
Last! but! not! least,! gender! equality! continues! to! take! a! back! seat! in! the! states!
development!discourse.!The!NEM!advocated!for!gender!to!be!mainstreamed!into!public!
policy! design! and! implementation! (NEAC,! 2010b)! but! the! 10MP! did! not! heed! the!
recommendation.! It! dedicated! only! four! pages! to! womens! empowerment! (EPU,! 2010,!
p.178S180),! compared! to! nine! pages! on! increasing! Bumiputeras! share! in! corporate!
equity!and!industrial!development!(Ibid,!p.165S173).!The!10MP!had!merely!restated!the!
governments!intention!to!increase!female!representation!in!decisionSmaking!positions!
in! the! public! and! private! sectors! to! 30%.! Women! were! treated! as! a! homogeneous!
category! so! challenges! faced! by! specific! groups! of! women! due! to! other! social! factors,!
such! as! Muslim! women! under! Islamic! law! (Anwar,! 2001),! indigenous! women! (Hew,!
2011)! or! migrant! women! (Chin,! 2003),! were! missing! from! the! discourse.! In! addition,!
men! were! excluded! from! the! discussion,! which! reinforced! the! states! problematic!
interpretation! of! gender! equality! as! a! womens! issue! that! does! not! concern! men!
(Cornwall,!2000).!!
Overall,!the!Malaysian!states!preoccupation!with!achieving!highSincome!status!in!
2020!has!relegated!the!concerns!of!the!most!socially!oppressed!groups!in!Malaysia!and!
environmental!sustainability!to!the!margins.!The!10MP!did!not!follow!through!with!the!

25!

NEMs! recommendations! to! pursue! inclusive! and! sustainable! development.! Its!

development!discourse!is!still!restricted!by!conventional!conceptions!of!development!as!
economic!growth!and!modernisation!as!discussed!in!the!previous!chapter.!The!welfare!
of! the! working! class,! natives,! women,! migrant! workers! and! refugees! are! seen! as!
secondary!to!Malaysias!race!to!join!the!league!of!developed!nations!(EPU,!2010,!p.7)!
by!industrialising!and!urbanising!rapidly.!!
Mistry! et( al! (2009,! p.970)! has! highlighted! that! discourse! determines! whose!
interests! or! knowledge! are! advanced! or! whose! are! suppressed! or! oppressed.! The!
10MPs! overwhelming! focus! on! interSethnic! inequality! continues! to! direct! attention!
away!from!rising!class!disparities!and!existing!gender!inequalities.!It!also!legitimises!the!
states! intention! to! retain! practices! that! have! enriched! rentSseekers! and! concentrate!
wealth!in!the!hands!of!those!close!to!its!political!and!corporate!elites!while!claiming!to!
champion! the! interests! of! the! Bumiputera! community! and! Malaysians! as! a! whole.! The!
NEMs! noble! plan! to! create! a! land! of! equal! opportunity! to! earn! a! good! living! and!
provide! a! secure,! happy! life! for! each! individual! and! each! family! (NEAC,! 2010a,! p.23)!
remains! a! distant! dream.! In! the! next! chapter,! I! will! look! into! the! discourses! used! to!
justify! and! oppose! one! of! the! most! controversial! development! projects! in! Malaysia! in!
recent!years:!the!Lynas!rare!earth!refinery.!
!
!

26!

Chapter(4(Contesting(Development(in(Malaysia(
!
In! this! chapter,! I! will! use! discourse! analysis! to! further! dissect! the! discourses! of!
development!being!circulated!at!the!local!level!in!Malaysia!by!looking!into!an!industrial!
project!that!has!attracted!high>profile!opposition!since!2011.!!
!
A!Case!Study!on!the!Lynas!Rare!Earth!Refinery!
The!Lynas!Advanced!Material!Plant!(LAMP)!in!Gebeng,!Pahang!is!the!second!rare!
earth!refinery!to!be!built!in!Malaysia.!The!first!was!the!Japanese>owned!Asian!Rare!Earth!
(ARE)!refinery!at!Bukit!Merah!in!the!state!of!Perak!in!1982!(Figure!6).!The!ARE,!which!
was!shut!down!in!1992,!has!left!a!psychological!scar!in!the!public!consciousness!as!its!
radioactive! waste! was! irresponsibly! dumped! in! the! open! air! and! some! in! drums,! of!
which! some! were! rotten,! and! in! shallow! trenches! at! several! locations! (Ichihara! and!
Harding,! 1995,! p.4).! Mitsubishi! Chemical! was! reported! to! be! spending! some! USD100!
million! to! clean! up! the! site! till! today! (Bradsher,! 2011a).! It! is! against! this! historical!
background!that!public!opposition!against!the!LAMP!has!unfolded.!!

Figure(6:(Locations(of(the(rare(earth(refineries(in(Malaysia!
(Source:!Noboru!Zama!as!cited!in!Wada,!2013)!
Rare!earth!metals!are!vital!components!in!the!manufacturing!of!high>tech!products!
such!as!smart!phones,!electric!car!motors!and!energy!efficient!appliances.!However,!the!
process! of! refining! rare! earth! ores! often! leave! behind! large! volumes! of! radioactive!
residue.! Currently,! some! 85%! of! the! worlds! rare! earth! metals! are! refined! in! China!

27!

where!the!state!has!begun!tighter!laws!to!clean!up!its!polluted!environments!(Bradsher,!
2013;! Liu! and! Pan,! 2012).! Lynas! Malaysia,! a! subsidiary! of! the! Australian>owned! Lynas!
Corp,! had! begun! constructing! its! refinery! at! the! Gebeng! industrial! park! in! the! state! of!
Pahang!in!2007.!Yet,!most!Malaysians!were!not!aware!of!the!project!until!the!local!media!
picked!up!The$New$York$Times!story$about!it!in!March!2011!(Bradsher,!2011b).!A!few!
citizen!groups!were!subsequently!formed!to!rally!against!the!plant.!!

Figure(7:(Photos(of(the(Lynas(Advanced(Materials(Plant!(Source:!Lynas!Corp,!2013)!
In! response,! Lynass! management! had! insisted! that! their! refinery! was! safe! and!
equipped!with!the!latest!technology!to!recycle!the!radioactive!residues!(Lynas!Malaysia,!
2011).! To! allay! public! doubts,! the! Malaysian! government! invited! experts! from! the!
International! Atomic! Energy! Agency! (IAEA,! 2011)! to! review! the! refinerys! radiation!
health!and!safety!aspects!in!June!2011.!Haunted!by!the!spectre!of!the!ARE!episode,!the!
IAEAs! assurance! that! the! refinery! was! safe! as! long! as! the! company! followed! its!
recommendations! did! not! convince! the! anti>Lynas! groups.! They! would! organise! a!
protest! in! February! 2012! that! attracted! an! estimated! 15,000! participants! to! Kuantan,!
the!coastal!capital!of!Pahang!(Malaysiakini,!2012a)!(Figure!8,!next!page).!!
In! April! 2012,! the! anti>Lynas! groups! joined! forces! with! the! countrys! popular!
electoral! reform! movement! to! organise! another! street! rally! in! the! nations! capital! that!
saw! the! police! firing! tear! gas! and! water! cannons! at! protestors! (Malaysiakini,! 2012b).!
Subsequently,! a! special! parliamentary! select! committee! was! set! up! to! look! into! the!
Lynas!project!but!opposition!parliamentarians!had!boycotted!the!committee.!Thus,!the!
independence!of!the!select!committee!was!cast!in!doubt!and!its!approval!of!the!plant!did!
not!quell!public!dissent!(Yuen!and!Carvalho,!2011).!!
!

28!

Figure(8:(Public(protest(in(Kuantan(on(26(February(2012!(Source:!Pei!Ling!Gan)!
The!government!regulator,!the!Atomic!Energy!Licensing!Board!(AELB),!had!issued!
a!temporary!operating!license!to!Lynas!in!September!2012.!But!public!protests!have!not!
ceased!and!the!anti>Lynas!groups!are!adamant!that!the!refinery!should!be!shut!down.!To!
examine! what! discourses! of! development! have! been! used! to! justify! or! oppose! the!
refinery,! I! conducted! face>to>face! interviews! with! five! government! regulators! from! the!
AELB,!three!opposition!politicians,!three!anti>Lynas!activists,!and!the!chairperson!of!the!
Pahang!Bar!Committee.!I!was!only!able!to!obtain!a!written!reply!from!Lynas!while!the!
Department!of!Environment!(DOE)!did!not!respond!to!my!interview!request!in!time.!My!
analysis! of! the! interviews! will! be! divided! into! three! parts:! the! first! on! the! ecological!
modernisation! discourse! adopted! by! Lynas,! the! second! on! the! scientific! rationalism!
discourse! by! the! state! regulator,! and! the! third! on! the! discourse! of! democratic!
development!by!activists!to!oppose!the!plant.!!
!
Ecological!Modernisation!
Different! schools! of! thought! have! influenced! conventional! and! critical!
interpretations!of!sustainable!development.!Ecological!modernisation!belongs!to!one!of!
the! mainstream! discourses! of! sustainable! development! (Adams,! 2009).! Proponents! of!
ecological! modernisation! believe! humanity! can! solve! environmental! problems! of! any!
magnitude! via! further! breakthroughs! in! technology,! science! and! economic! and!

29!

managerial! reforms! (Ibid).! It! does! not! challenge! existing! political! and! economic!
structures!regardless!if!they!are!just!nor!does!it!address!the!question!of!ecological!limits!
in! economic! development! (Langhelle,! 2000).! Lynas! has! adopted! this! discourse! to!
support!its!claim!that!it!is!championing!sustainable!development.!!
In!its!written!reply,!the!company!said!it!seeks!to!minimise!its!carbon!footprint!and!
minimise,! reuse! and! recycle! by>products! generated! from! our! operations.! Thus! it! has!
chosen!to!refine!rare!earth!ores!that!have!significantly!lower!radioactivity!content!than!
those! that! was! refined! by! the! ARE.! The! lanthanide! concentrate! it! imports! from! Mount!
Weld,! Australia! contains! about! 0.16%! thorium! with! a! radioactivity! reading! of! around!
6Bq/g!whereas!the!ores!the!ARE!had!refined!in!the!1980s!contained!7%!thorium!(PSC,!
2012).! Lynas! noted! that! according! to! existing! international! standards,! materials! are!
only!classified!as!radioactive!if!its!radioactivity!exceeds!10Bg/g.!!
It! stressed! that! ore! from! Mount! Weld! is! non>toxic,! non>hazardous! and! does! not!
dissolve! in! waterstable,! heavily! oxidised! and! is! non>reactive,! just! as! it! has! existed! as!
part! of! nature! for! millions! of! years! in! Western! Australia! (Ibid).! However,! the! AELB!
considers!any!material!above!1Bq/g!as!radioactive!and!thus!Lynas!said!it!would!comply!
with! Malaysias! stricter! standard.! The! radioactivity! of! Malaysian! soils! natural!
background!is!only!between!0.06!and!0.11Bq/g!(UNSCEAR,!2000!as!cited!in!Al>Areqi!et$
al,$ 2014).! A! local! academic! study! found! that! one! of! the! three! residues! ! synthetic!
gypsum!generated!from!the!Water!Leach!Purification!process!at!the!refinery!!contained!
traces!of!thorium!with!a!radioactivity!of!7.2Bq/g!(Al>Areqi!et$al,!2014).!Thorium!has!a!
half>life! of! 14! billion! years.! It! is! estimated! that! the! refinery! would! leave! behind! an!
estimated!32,000!tonnes!of!these!radioactive!residues!per!year!if!the!plant!operates!at!
full!capacity!(Ibid).!!
Lynas!intends!to!recycle!these!residues!and!said!it!has!been!successful!in!its!pilot!
project! to! convert! them! into! a! bound! synthetic! aggregatesuitable! for! road>based!
materials!with!a!radioactivity!of!less!than!1Bq/g.!It!has!submitted!an!application!to!the!
AELB!to!recycle!the!residues!into!commercial!products.!If!approved,!the!company!would!
fulfil! its! zero! waste! policy.! By! framing! the! issue! around! science,! technology,!
management! and! compliance! with! existing! laws! and! regulations,! Lynas! had! avoided!
addressing! the! anti>Lynas! groups! main! grouse:! that! the! Malaysian! authorities! did! not!
consult!the!public!before!approving!its!construction.!It!had!dismissed!the!protestors!as!
irresponsible!parties!that!only!sought!out!to!fulfil!their!own!political!agenda!by!using!

30!

unfounded,!biased!and!confusing!arguments.!To!be!fair,!the!company!has!since!invited!
legislators,!university!students!and!local!communities!to!visit!its!refinery.!Nevertheless,!
its! sustainable! development! discourse! is! constrained! by! its! tacit! approval! of! the! top>
down!nature!of!the!development!process!in!Malaysia.!!
!
Scientific!Rationalism!
The!interview!with!the!AELB!was!done!in!a!group!at!its!headquarters!in!Dengkil!in!
the!state!of!Selangor!on!4!July!2014.!The!participants!included!director>general!Hamrah!
Mohd!Ali,!licensing!director!Hasmadi!Hassan,!accompanied!by!Dr!Teng!Iyu!Lin,!an!expert!
in! naturally! occurring! radioactive! materials,! and! Siti! Afidah! Awang! from! the!
enforcement! division! and! Halim! Abdul! Rahman! from! the! licensing! division.! This!
discourse! analysis! is! based! primarily! on! Hamrah! and! Hasmadis! quotes! as! they! had!
dominated! the! discussion.! The! three! other! officers! mostly! provided! relevant! facts! and!
details!to!support!their!superiors!arguments.!!
Hamrah! and! Hasmadi! are! both! nuclear! scientists! with! 25! years! of! experience.!
Hamrah! stressed! that! he! is! a! man! of! science.! He! said! the! AELB! had! agreed! to! my!
interview! request! because! they! wanted! to! provide! real! information! about! the! Lynas!
refinery! based! on! facts! and! figures,! not! emotions.! He! said! a! radiological! impact!
assessment! had! been! carried! out! before! the! AELB! approved! Lynass! temporary!
operating! license.! Furthermore,! Lynass! application! was! scrutinised! by! a! five>member!
board! made! up! of! experts! from! the! Ministry! of! Health,! Department! of! Environment,!
Department! of! Occupational! Safety! and! Health,! the! Human! Rights! Commission! and! an!
academic.!!
Hamrah!had!used!the!analogy!of!a!driving!license!to!defend!the!regulators!decision!
to! give! Lynas! the! green! light! to! operate! despite! persistent! public! pressure! for! its!
withdrawal:!If![they]!follow!the!rules,!why!should!it!be!retracted?!In!other!words,!if!the!
decision!made!had!taken!into!account!science!and!compliance!with!existing!regulations,!
then!it!was!rational!and!justifiable.!Yet,!both!Hamrah!and!Hasmadi!had!expressed!their!
frustrations! in! their! futile! attempts! to! counter! unfounded! rumours! about! the! Lynas!
refinery! with! scientific! facts! alone.! Hamrah! complained! that:! [If]! were! going! to! be! a!
developed! country,! [we]! must! also! have! a! developed! mindset.! Thus,! blame! is!
apportioned!to!the!anti>Lynas!groups!for!having!an!underdeveloped!or!rather!irrational,!
unscientific!mindset.!!

31!

Hasmadi! pointed! out! that! the! anti>Lynas! groups! had! compared! the! rare! earth!
refinery,! which! is! a! chemical! plant,! to! a! nuclear! power! plant! and! had! referred! to! the!
2011! Fukushima! disaster! to! create! fear! among! the! public.! Although! both! generate!
radioactive! waste,! he! explained! that! the! comparison! is! misleading! for! nuclear! power!
plant! generates! man>made! high>level! radioactive! waste! while! the! LAMPs! residues!
contain! very! low>level! naturally! occurring! radioactive! materials.! In! radiation! science,!
high>level! radioactive! waste! should! not! be! diluted! and! must! be! contained,! whereas!
naturally! occurring! radioactive! materials! with! very! low>level! radioactivity! can! be!
diluted!before!they!are!disposed!of!or!recycled.!!
Hamrah!stressed!that!as!a!regulator,!the!AELBs!primary!concerns!are!the!health!of!
the! workers,! members! of! the! public! and! the! environment.! Therefore,! the! agency! has!
stationed! five! officers! to! monitor! the! refinerys! operations! 24/7! and! independently!
collect! data! on! air! and! water! quality! within! 5,! 10,! 15! and! 20km! radius! from! the! plant.!
However,! he! was! conscious! that! the! anti>Lynas! groups! do! not! trust! the! AELB:! [They!
think]!government!officers!are!corrupted.!Hamrah!thought!the!prejudice!was!unfair!as!
the!agency!dont!promote!what!we!regulateWere!very!strict.!We!try!our!best!to!work!
independently.! The! agency! has! declined! to! comment! on! whether! the! refinery!
contributes!to!sustainable!development!in!Malaysia!and!had!directed!me!to!refer!to!the!
Malaysian!Investment!Development!Authority!instead.!
Scientific! rationalism! is! rooted! in! European! Enlightenment! notions! of! scientific!
positivism! and! rationalism! (Peet! and! Hartwick,! 2009).! It! does! not! take! into! account!
power!relationships!and!dismissed!the!positive!effects!of!emotions!such!as!empathy.!It!is!
also! closely! linked! to! the! conception! of! development! as! modernisation! and!
Westernisation.! Under! this! paradigm,! actors! appeal! to! the! notion! that! science! and!
technology! are! the! sources! of! truth! and! progress! in! society! to! justify! industrial!
development.! While! the! AELB! attempted! to! distant! itself! from! the! politics! of!
development,!its!discourse!is!consistent!with!the!governments!initial!approach!to!hire!
international!experts!from!the!IAEA!to!assuage!public!fear.!!
The!AELBs!stance!is!that!it!is!irrational!for!the!public!to!rally!against!the!refinery!
over!fears!of!potential!mismanagement!of!the!radioactive!residues.!The!AELB!thinks!the!
public!should!trust!its!experts.!But!under!an!authoritarian!state!where!the!independence!
of!public!institutions!including!the!legislature,!judiciary,!civil!service!and!the!media!have!

32!

been! known! to! be! compromised! (Slater,! 2003),! the! regulator! faced! an! uphill! task! to!
command!public!confidence.!
!
Democratic!Development!
There!are!three!main!groups!that!have!been!campaigning!to!shut!down!the!Lynas!
refinery:! Save! Malaysia! Stop! Lynas! (SMSL),! the! Stop! Lynas! Coalition! (SLC)! and!
Himpunan$ Hijau! (Green! Assembly! in! Malay).! Between! 27! June! and! 2! July! 2014,! I!
conducted!interviews!with!the!following!individuals:!
!
1) SMSL!chief!Tan!Bun!Teet,!!
2) SLC!chief!who!only!wish!to!be!known!as!Ali,!
3) SLC!member!Mahmud,!!
4) SLC!former!chief!and!Beserah!state!assemblyperson!Andansura!Rabu,!!
5) Former!Himpunan!Hijau!publicity!chief,!former!SLC!media!chief!and!Semambu!
state!assemblyperson!Lee!Chean!Chung,!
6) Indera!Mahkota!Member!of!Parliament!Fauzi!Abdul!Rahman,!and!!
7) Pahang!Bar!Committee!chief!Hon!Kai!Ping.!
!
The!SMSL!group!led!by!Tan,!a!retired!teacher!from!Kuantan,!is!non>partisan!while!
the!SLC!and!Himpunan$Hijau!are!loose!networks!that!include!several!civil!society!groups!
and!members!from!political!parties.!Ali,!Mahmud!and!Andansura!are!local!residents!in!
Gebeng!and!are!members!of!Parti$Islam$SeMalaysia!(Pan>Malaysian!Islamic!Party![PAS])!
whereas! Lee! and! Fauzi! are! members! of! Parti$ Keadilan$ Rakyat! (Peoples! Justice! Party!
[PKR]).!Both!PAS!and!PKR!are!part!of!Pakatan$Rakyat!(The!Peoples!Coalition),!a!federal!
opposition! coalition! in! Malaysia! formed! in! 2008! after! the! watershed! elections.!
Andansura!and!Lee!were!elected!in!the!2013!general!elections!by!campaigning!against!
Lynas.! Fauzi! was! formerly! from! UMNO,! the! dominant! party! in! the! ruling! coalition.! He!
retired! from! politics! in! 2004! but! stood! again! in! 2013! under! PKRs! banner.! The! Lynas!
refinery!is!located!within!his!parliamentary!constituency.!!
Hon! is! a! human! rights! lawyer! who! had! defended! SMSL! against! a! defamation! suit!
filed!by!Lynas!and!also!assisted!SMSL!to!file!an!appeal!for!judicial!review!of!the!approval!
of! Lynass! temporary! operating! license.! Another! opposition! parliamentarian! Fuziah!
Salleh,!who!has!been!at!the!forefront!of!the!anti>Lynas!struggle,!was!hospitalised!when!I!

33!

contacted!her!during!my!fieldwork!in!June!2014.!I!was!not!able!to!interview!Himpunan$
Hijau!chief!Wong!Tack!as!well!but!I!have!managed!to!obtain!information!about$the!group$
from!the!other!activists.!
Their! main! contention! was! that! the! state! did! not! consult! the! public! before! it!
approved!the!construction!of!the!rare!earth!refinery.!The!secrecy!has!led!to!fears!over!a!
repeat! of! the! ARE! episode,! where! residents! allegedly! suffered! increased! incidences! of!
birth! defects! and! leukaemia! due! to! pollution! from! the! refinery! (Bertell! and! Jayabalan,!
1990).!Andansura!said!locals!only!found!out!about!the!construction!of!the!Lynas!refinery!
in! 2008! when! Friends! of! the! Earth! Malaysia! approached! the! villagers.! Ali! added! that!
concerned! villagers! were! given! the! run>around! when! they! approached! government!
authorities!to!find!out!more!information!about!the!project.!!
When!the!AELB1,!DOE!and!the!local!authorities!finally!decided!to!organise!a!series!
of! public! forums! in! April! and! May! 2011! to! address! rising! public! opposition,! Lynas!
representatives! were! nowhere! to! be! seen.! Hon! recounted:! I! attended! the! forums! and!
challenged!these!people,!who!were!supposed!to!be![independent]!but!instead![were]!up!
on! the! stage! defending! Lynas!! Tan! said! the! authorities! could! not! handle! the! public!
pressure!and!cancelled!its!road!show!after!organising!just!two!of!these!forums.!!
Their! second! contention! is! that! a! detailed! environmental! impact! assessment!
(DEIA)! was! never! done.! Lynas! was! only! required! to! carry! out! the! radiological! impact!
assessment! and! a! preliminary! environmental! impact! assessment,! which! exempted!
public!consultation!(Chooi,!2012b).!The!government!had!since!changed!the!regulations!
to! make! a! DEIA! a! compulsory! requirement! for! projects! involving! radioactive! waste! in!
June!2011!to!comply!with!IAEAs!recommendation.!!
Ali! highlighted! that! when! the! radiological! impact! assessment! report! was! put! on!
public! display,! he! had! to! copy! the! contents! down! by! hand.! No! photocopies! of! the!
document! were! distributed.! The! report! was! in! English! instead! of! Malay,! the! common!
language!used!among!local!communities!in!Gebeng.!He!said!that!these!documents!should!
have!been!made!easily!available!to!the!public.!Hon!remarked!that!developed!countries!
like!Australia!take!democratic!principles!such!as!freedom!of!information,!accountability!
and! transparency! much! more! seriously! in! the! process! of! development.! He! said! that!
Malaysian!authorities,!which!were!supposed!to!be!neutral,!have!used!excessive!force!at!
peaceful!public!protests!against!Lynas.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1!At!that!time,!the!AELB!director>general!was!Abdul!Aziz!Raja!Adnan.!
!

34!

Fauzi! stressed! that! the! activists! and! opposition! parties! are! not! anti>development!
but!public!interests!and!environmental!sustainability!should!not!be!compromised!in!the!
name! of! development.! Tan! also! questioned! the! economic! benefits! of! the! Lynas! project!
since!the!rare!earth!metals!are!being!exported!to!Japan!and!the!company!has!been!given!
a!12>year!tax!break.!(In!its!written!reply,!Lynas!said!it!provides!nearly!500!jobs!to!locals!
and! has! attracted! investment! interests! in! downstream! industries.)! Lee! described! the!
Lynas! project! as! a! result! of! environmental! imperialism:! with! the! ore! imported! from!
Australia! and! being! exported! to! Japan! again,! Malaysia! is! only! left! with! the! radioactive!
residues.!But!Mahmud!best!exemplified!the!states!trust!deficit!among!the!local!activists:!
The!government!has!failed!us.!The!AELB!has!failed!us.!The!DOE!has!failed!us.!The!police!
have!failed!us.!!
In! the! democratic! development! discourse,! it! is! taken! for! granted! that! citizens!
should! have! the! autonomy! to! decide! what! sort! of! development! they! want.! An! elected!
government! should! not! boss! the! public! around! in! the! name! of! development,! economic!
growth! or! science! and! technology.! If! local! communities! think! Lynas! is! dangerous!
because!they!cannot!trust!the!government!to!regulate!it!effectively,!then!the!state!should!
never!have!approved!it.!Indeed,!the!activists!do!not!trust!Lynas!and!the!AELBs!data!so!
they!have!been!collecting!information!about!the!air!and!water!quality!near!the!refinery!
by! themselves.! To! them,! the! struggle! against! Lynas! is! a! political! struggle! between! the!
public!and!a!wealthy!foreign!corporation!backed!by!an!authoritarian!state.!
!
Rethinking!Sustainable!Development!
Clearly,!Lynas,!the!AELB!and!the!anti>Lynas!movement!are!talking!past!each!other!
at!this!stage.!Lynas!has!tried!to!depoliticise!the!issue!through!the!discourse!of!ecological!
modernisation!and!to!claim!it!is!championing!sustainable!development.!But!I!think!it!is!
clear! from! this! case! study! that! apart! from! economic,! social! and! environmental!
sustainability,! the! conception! of! sustainable! development! must! take! into! account!
democratic!practices!including!meaningful!public!consultations,!freedom!of!information,!
right! to! peaceful! assembly,! transparency! and! accountability.! Otherwise,! governments!
and! wealthy! corporations! could! easily! abuse! the! rhetoric! of! sustainable! development!
and!scientific!and!technological!progress!to!hide!undemocratic!development!practices.!!
In!this!case,!activists!did!not!buy!into!the!discourse!of!ecological!modernisation!or!
the! government! regulators! discourse! of! scientific! rationalism.! They! have! successfully!

35!

put! forward! their! own! discourse! of! democratic! development! to! garner! public! support.!
Although! the! state! did! not! succumb! to! public! pressure! to! shut! down! the! refinery,! the!
intense!public!scrutiny!has!kept!Lynas!and!government!regulators!on!their!toes!as!well!
as!tightened!environmental!regulations!in!Malaysia.!!
Nevertheless,! this! chapter! has! presented! only! the! three! main! discourses! that! are!
competing! against! each! other! over! this! development! controversy! in! Malaysia.! My!
discourse! analysis! would! have! certainly! been! further! enriched! by! interviews! with!
government!ministers,!the!DOE,!the!Nuclear!Malaysia!agency,!more!grassroots!activists!
and! local! residents.! Different! ideas! and! discourses! of! development! are! likely! to! be!
circulating!under!the!surface!and!may!be!causing!tensions!within!activists!themselves,!
opposition!and!ruling!political!parties,!and!among!different!government!agencies!in!the!
civil!service.!If!I!had!more!time,!I!would!also!have!taken!a!closer!look!into!relevant!news!
coverage!in!the!English,!Malay,!Mandarin!traditional!and!online!media!from!2011!till!the!
present!to!observe!if!the!discourses!of!the!different!actors!have!evolved!over!time.!!
!

36!

Chapter(5(Conclusion(
!
Simplistic! conceptions! of! development! as! economic! growth,! industrialisation,!
urbanisation!and!Westernisation!have!penetrated!into!the!discourses!of!development!in!
Malaysia! at! the! national! and! local! level.! Policymakers! and! economists! have! treated!
development! as! a! race! among! Southern! countries! to! achieve! ever@higher! economic!
growth! rates! to! catch! up! with! the! developed! world.! This! obscures! the! fact! that!
development! is! also! a! political! process! that! has! been! and! is! still! being! used! to! exploit!
low@income! groups,! indigenous! peoples,! women,! migrant! workers,! ethnic! minorities,!
and! nature.! A! holistic! conception! of! development! must! always! take! into! account!
freedom! from! oppression! as! well! as! environmental! sustainability.! Indeed,! we! must! be!
sceptical! of! any! discussion! of! economic! development! that! ignores! the! wider! political,!
social,! cultural,! environmental! and! geographical! factors! that! are! intertwined! in! the!
workings!of!real@life!economies.!!
Malaysia! has! always! had! to! take! into! account! inter@ethnic! inequalities! in! the!
process! of! development! in! order! to! preserve! social! harmony.! Policymakers! came! up!
with!the!NEP!in!1970,!which!had!drastically!reduced!poverty!rates!over!the!decades!as!
well! as! narrowed! the! income! gap! between! the! Malays! and! the! Chinese.! But! the!
overwhelming!focus!on!inter@ethnic!economic!equality!has!obscured!class,!gender!and!
urban@rural!disparities.!In!future!research,!I!think!closer!attention!should!be!paid!to!the!
discourse!that!have!been!used!to!justify!policies!that!have!contributed!to!the!widening!
income!gap!between!the!top!20%!income!earners!and!the!bottom!40%!since!the!early!
1990s.!Was!it!connected!to!the!spate!of!privatisation!exercises!and!mega!infrastructure!
projects!in!the!late!1980s!and!throughout!1990s!(Gomez!and!Jomo,!1999;!Tan,!2008)?!
More! attention! should! also! be! paid! to! the! real@life! consequences! of! urban@centric!
discourse!on!rural!development.!
At! present,! Malaysias! national! development! discourse! is! limited! by! the! ruling!
governments! ambition! to! become! a! high@income! economy.! While! the! New! Economic!
Model! sets! out! noble! goals,! the! 10th! Malaysia! Plan! pays! lip! service! to! inclusivity! and!
sustainability!while!entrenching!policies!that!have!enriched!the!capitalist!class!close!to!
the!ruling!elites.!Power!relationships!and!politics!must!never!be!taken!for!granted!in!the!
discourse! and! implementation! of! development.! We! must! keep! asking! the! age@old!

37!

questions! of! who! gets! what! out! of! a! development! process,! when,! how,! why! and! most!
importantly,!who!decides!(Lasswell,!1936)?!!
While! international! institutions,! corporations! and! governments! do! have! more!
access!and!resources!to!circulate!their!discourses!to!the!masses;!oppressed!groups!have!
always!attempted!to!counter!them!with!true!stories!of!marginalisation.!The!struggle!of!
the!anti@Lynas!activists!has!demonstrated!that!it!is!possible!for!citizens!to!reclaim!the!
meaning! of! development! by! putting! forward! their! own! counter! discourse.! After! all,!
words!are!given!meaning!by!our!real!life!actions.!However,!I!also!note!that!most!of!the!
anti@Lynas! activists! have! come! from! semi@urban,! middle! class! backgrounds! and! thus!
have!more!resources!than!rural!folks!or!the!working!class!to!struggle!against!the!might!
of! an! authoritarian! state.! But! even! as! I! write,! the! rural! natives! in! Sarawak! have! been!
staging! a! blockade! for! more! than! 10! months! against! a! hydroelectric! dam! that! would!
displace!20,000!people!(Sarawak!Report,!2014).!They,!too,!want!democratic,!sustainable!
and!equitable!development.!!
It!is!ironic!that!the!Malaysian!ruling!government,!which!is!eager!to!do!whatever!it!
takes! to! achieve! the! status! of! a! developed! country,! has! been! slow! to! implement!
political! reforms! that! would! make! Malaysias! development! process! more! democratic!
(Mohd!Sani,!2011;!Giersdorf!and!Croissant,!2011;!Welsh,!2013).!Rising!public!protests!
against!mega!industrial!projects!showed!that!the!state!could!no!longer!rely!on!the!grand!
modernisation! discourse! to! demand! citizens! to! conform! to! its! development! plans.!
Citizens!are!talking!back!and!telling!the!state!you!should!make!development!work!for!
us.! They! clearly! have! democratic! aspirations! that! are! comparable! to! the! developed!
countries.!Can!the!ruling!government!in!Malaysia!keep!up?!
!

38!

Appendix(1:(Geography(Research(Ethics(Screening(Form(

39!

Appendix(2:(Risk(Assessment(Form(

40!

Appendix(3:(Ethical(Approval(Notification(

41!

!
!
!

42!

Appendix(4:(Interview(questions(
!
Lynas!
1)!What!is!your!role!in!the!company?!How!long!have!you!been!with!Lynas?!!
2)!According!to!your!companys!website,!Lynas!contributes!to!sustainable!development.!
Can!you!share!what!does!your!company!meant!by!sustainable!development?!How!does!
your!company!contribute!to!sustainable!development!in!Malaysia?!!
3)!Lynas!secured!the!temporary!operating!license!in!Sept!2012!and!begun!production!in!
early!2013.!Can!you!share!more!about!the!steps!your!company!takes!to!mitigate!
environmental!risks?!
4)!Can!you!also!share!how!is!the!lowIlevel!radioactive!waste!being!handled?!!
5)!Can!you!also!share!your!companys!economic!contribution!at!the!local,!state!and/or!
national!level!in!Malaysia?!!
6)!What!does!your!company!think!about!the!public!doubts!and!fear!against!the!refinery?!
What!strategies!are!used!to!handle!these!public!doubts!and!fear?!!
7)!Anything!else!you!would!like!to!add!about!your!companys!sustainability!or!
corporate!social!responsibility!policies?!!
!
The!AELB!
1)!Berapa!lama!tuan!sudah!berkhidmat!dalam!Lembaga!Perlesenan!Tenaga!Atom?!!
(How$long$have$you$served$in$the$Atomic$Energy$Licensing$Board?)!
2)!Bolehkah!tuan!berkongsi!sedikit!sebanyak!tentang!sejarah/later!belakang!
permohonan!Lynas?!(Can$you$share$with$me$the$history/background$of$Lynass$
application?)!
3)!Bolehkah!tuan!jelaskan!sebabIsebab!AELB!membuat!keputusan!untuk!meluluskan!
TOL!Lynas?!(Can$you$share$the$reasons$AELB$decided$to$approve$Lynas$TOL?)!
4)!TOL!Lynas!akan!tamat!September!tahun!ini,!bolehkah!tuan!berkongsi!apa!yang!akan!
berlaku!selepas!itu?!(Lynass$TOL$will$expire$this$September,$can$you$share$what$would$
happen$after$that?)!
5)!Adakah!AELB!sedang!memantau!operasi!Lynas?!Bagaimana!sisa!radioaktif!yang!telah!
dihasilkan!setakat!ini!dikendalikan?!(Is$AELB$monitoring$Lynass$operations?$How$is$the$
radioactive$waste$that$has$been$produced$so$far$being$handled?)!

43!

6)!Pada!pendapat!tuan,!adakah!Lynas!menyumbang!kepada!pembangunan!
mampan/lestari!di!Malaysia?!(In$your$opinion,$does$Lynas$contribute$to$sustainable$
development$in$Malaysia?)!
!
AntiILynas!activists!
1)!How!did!you!get!involve!with!the!antiILynas!campaign?!What!is!your!current!role!in!
the!antiILynas!movement?!
2)!Can!you!share!with!me!briefly!the!history!of!your!group?!How!was!it!formed?!
3)!What!are!the!core!reasons!your!group!is!strongly!opposed!to!the!refinery?!
4)!How!do!you!think!the!government!has!fared!in!their!handling!of!public!fear!and!
doubts!about!the!refinery?!
5)!In!your!own!words,!what!do!you!understand!by!sustainable!development?!!
6)!In!your!opinion,!is!the!current!development!path!in!Malaysia!sustainable?!What!do!
you!think!are!the!main!challenges!to!sustainable!development!in!Malaysia?!!
!
I!end!I!
!
!
!
!

44!

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