Political Stability & Sustainability as Key Success Factors in Developing Malaysia: Perdana Discourse Series 4

Before Malaya's independence in 1957, the British segregated the Malays from the non-Malays for their own political and economical benefits, the outcome of which was a lack of inter-racial harmony although there was tolerance and accommodation. The segregation was further deepened because the Government established policies derived from mistaken assumptions of the social needs of different ethnic groups.

This monograph features the full transcript of the keynote address of the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who explained how multi-racial Malaysia overcame ethnic differences to succeed as a modern nation, principally through political cooperation and social accommodation at the fourth Perdana Discourse Series held in April 2006. His speech is followed by presentations by former Transport Minister, Tun Dr. Ling Liiong Sik, academician Professor Dr. Faridah Hassan, youth political representative Ms Ismalina Ismail, and youth representative Mr. Logandran Balavijendran. Summaries of the findings of the student breakout sessions are also included.

The Perdana Discourse Series was jointly organised by Perdana Leadership Foundation, an independent research and archive institution dedicated to Malaysia's Prime Ministers, and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), the biggest public university in Malaysia. This monograph is a useful introduction to Malaysia's policies on race relations, with historical references to provide context.