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Article: Malaysia's improbable triumph. (Third World Report, part 4)
- Article from:
- The New Leader
- Article date:
- September 23, 1985
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1985 American Labor Conference on International Affairs. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Malaysia's Improbable Triumph
IN A LAND covered by rain forests where king cobras allegedly chase human beings, gibbons steal food from villages and 53,000 "originalmen' still cling to animism, you would hardly expect to discover one of the more prosperous economies of Asia. Nor would you count on finding a model of relatively democratic political development in a country where nine hereditary sultans elect a rotating monarch, 53 ethnic groups (plus an official category of "others') divide among 12 political parties, and a virulent Islamic movement advocates killing infidels. Yet in 1985 Malaysia --despite its many tensions and flaws--is such a place. Indeed, it ...