Privatising Malaysia Airlines: A Policy Transfer Approach. 2008. Penerbit UKM: Bangi. ISBN 978-942-842-1 (paper back cover). RM30.00. 234pp. Khairiah

Privatising Malaysia Airlines: A Policy Transfer Approach. 2008. Penerbit UKM: Bangi. ISBN 978-942-842-1 (paper back cover). RM30.00. 234pp. Khairiah Salwa Mokhtar.

In the wake of the global economic recession in the early 1980s, Malaysia, along with many other countries around the world, was compelled to adopt new economic measures. In the process of searching for solutions to its economic problems, the government attempted to draw some lessons from the British privatisation programme, which proved successful and have been widely respected and emulated. This book provides the first study of the emergence and development of privatisation policy in Malaysia. It is organised around a case study analysis of the privatisation of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), being the first privatisation experiment because it was a flagship Malaysian Industry with huge potential for international competitiveness. The policy transfer network approach is utilised as an analytical framework for understanding this particular form of policy development. It is combined with a political economy approach which roots the development of privatisation within a broader national economic plan geared towards increasing Malaysia’s international competitiveness within the global market place. The book draws three main conclusions. Firstly, it concludes that Malaysian privatisation policy can be characterised as a ‘hybrid’ form of policy transfer which drew lessons from both. Eastern and Western exemplars. Secondly, it contends that privatisation policy in Malaysia should be understood as a policy instrument within a broader state project in which state actors and institutions promote new forms of economic activity in an attempt to adapt state action to cope more effectively with what they perceive as global realities. Thirdly, it argues that privatisation policy is not necessarily a ‘cure-all’ for a state’s social and economic problems. Nor does it necessarily mean the end of state involvement in the formerly state owned industry. Indeed, the ultimate failure of MAS in being able to maintain its market position has led to the Malaysian state having to intervene in order to rescue the country’s flagship industry. In sum, the success of privatisation in particular, and the nature of state intervention in the economy in general, rest on the vagaries of market forces.

KHAIRIAH SALWA MOKHTAR, Ph.D is a lecturer in Public Administration and Political Science at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. Her area of specialization includes public policy, policy transfer, new public management, political marketing and distance education.

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