00:00The late 1990s Asian financial crisis radically altered Malaysia's political business landscape,
00:08leading to the nationalization of assets owned by the politically connected, according to
00:12Edmund Terence Gomez in his book, Misgovernance, Grand Corruption in Malaysia.
00:17Gomez, an emeritus professor from University of Malaya, said that before the AFC, Malaysia's
00:23corporate sector was rife with political business ties managed by elites who leveraged government
00:29concessions. This intricate network was shattered by the AFC in 1997, resulting in debt and
00:35bankruptcy for UMNO-linked businessmen. This prompted bailouts at the huge expense of the
00:41government, which was heavily criticized within UMNO as a by-product of cronyism,
00:46collusion and nepotism. The criticism sparked the cataclysmic feud that saw then party president
00:54Dr. Mahathir Mohamad oust his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, impacting the business influence of
00:59those aligned with Anwar. The aftermath saw numerous enterprises morph into government-linked
01:05companies. However, this shift allowed politicians to abuse these GLCs to serve their interests,
01:11fostering a new wave of corruption. Gomez reveals a burgeoning political GLC complex,
01:17where entrenched cronyism and nepotism continue to undermine public trust and exacerbate power
01:23abuses within Malaysia's vast GLC network. Misgovernance, grand corruption in Malaysia,
01:29is on sale at MPH and Kinokuniya, ES Lite, Tsutaya and Garabudaya bookshops.
01:35Dhanushwa Dureza, FMT News.
