Malaysia in 2004

Malaysia in 2004

Area: 329,847 sq km (127,355 sq mi)
'Population (2004 est.): 25,584,000
Capital: Kuala Lumpur; some government offices have moved to Putrajaya (the new planned capital)
Chief of state: Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Paramount Ruler) Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni al-Marhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail
Head of government: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

On Sept. 2, 2004, the High Court in Malaysia ended one of the country’s most wrenching controversies when it released Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister imprisoned since 1998 on questionable charges. The court, having previously rejected repeated appeals from Anwar, overturned his conviction for sodomy, belatedly citing evidence that the prosecution’s key witness was unreliable. The move was widely attributed to the anticorruption campaign of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. (See Biographies.) The arrests in February of a government minister and a prominent businessman on fraud charges gave early promise of Abdullah’s success in combating corruption. Despite claims that further prosecutions were imminent, the effort appeared to have stalled in the months before Anwar’s release. Nevertheless, Abdullah’s anticorruption stance clearly resonated with Malaysians, who gave his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) a landslide victory in general elections held on March 21. The ruling National Front coalition, led by the UMNO, gained control of more than 90% of the seats in the federal parliament.

In 2004 Malaysia’s government struggled to combat rising crime rates. In January, following the rape and murder of two girls within one week, the government considered introducing public flogging as a punishment for child rape. Flogging demonstrations in Malaysian schools, launched in May to deter juvenile delinquency, were quickly discontinued following warnings that such demonstrations legitimized violence in the eyes of children. In February and March 85,000 teenagers reported for training in the country’s new national service program, created to foster goodwill between ethnic groups and discipline among youth. By April, however, the program had started to founder amid reports of ethnic gang violence, sexual assaults, extortion, and drug abuse in its training camps. In August a royal commission reported that Malaysia’s police force was riddled with corruption and brutality.

Malaysia’s economy continued to thrive in 2004, with estimated growth of 7% coupled with low inflation. The manufacturing and services sectors led the economy. High rates of consumer spending and a record number of tourist arrivals spurred growth in the services sector. The country was expected to maintain a positive overall balance of payments for the fourth consecutive year.

Malaysia sought to foster greater cooperation between Asian nations in 2004. In an address before the East Asian Congress in June, the prime minister urged the formation of an Asian economic union. Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia began coordinating naval patrols in the Strait of Malacca in July. In October Abdullah met with Thailand’s prime minister to discuss increasing security along the Thai border, where Thai Muslim separatists had launched several attacks. Malaysia also partook of its share of controversy in the international sphere. In February, U.S. Pres. George W. Bush accused Malaysia of trafficking in nuclear secrets, a charge vehemently denied by the government. Suspected terrorists imprisoned in Malaysia started a hunger strike in March to protest the country’s internal security laws, which permitted the indefinite detention of suspects without charge. In April the New York-based Human Rights Watch charged Malaysia with mistreating refugees who were fleeing fighting in Aceh province, Indon.

by: Janet Moredock