INDEPENDENCE came first to the Malay Peninsula and then to North Borneo ” now Sabah ” and Sarawak. These were the three territorial entities that are still together in the Federation of Malaysia formed in 1963. A multiethnic, independent, sovereign state, no longer hampered by British colonialism, the country grew rapidly. Firstly on prudence, where foreign borrowings were kept low to ensure that Malaysia would never be in hock. A second phase, of risks taken to increase the pace of economic development brought the nation ahead of the pack. As fast as was permissible, the country took to manufacturing and then immediately expanded the services sector to end the dependence on the export of raw materials and cash crops. In short, independence was a boon. Left to our own devices, the country flourished; and as distinct from many other newly independent countries, Malaysia was a democracy ” the ballot box, and not guns, produced the leaders.
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