Malaysia: The Dramatical Change to Pro-Business Policies

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Malaysia is located in the south-eastern Asia, bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam. Due to its locations, it has been colonised since the late 18th centuries by many countries. Since 1965, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP average of 6.5% growth for almost 50 years. The economical development especially boosted during 1981 and 2003 under the governance of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. Malaysia succeeded in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to expansion in manufacturing, services, and tourism. Also, the current Prime Minister continues to pursue pro-business policies .

The dramatical change to pro-business policies attracted more and more foreign investors to create or move its manufacturing plant to Malaysia, result in its export being larger than that of import into the country.

Relocating parts of company’s manufacturing plant from New Zealand to Malaysia would definitely have cost reducing effect on company’s manufacturing operations due to cheaper labour cost and plant. However, there are downsides to what seems like a utopia for manufacturers. This essay will cover some important market and non-market environments in Malaysia that would have an impact on firm’s manufacturing operations.

One of Malaysia’s more significant non-market environments that may have an impact on company’s performance is the country’s predominant religion of Muslim - 60% of the total population - followed by Buddhist (19.2%) .

Even though Malaysia’s law system is similar to English Common law system, things like family conflicts and small conflicts at work are so...

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... tax tariff. Based on the assumption that the company is exporting the finished goods to major developed countries such as the U.S. and the E.U. the transportation costs is high.

Lastly, but most importantly, understanding the culture and its background provides a valuable insight and an ‘umbrella theme’ of a country. According to Geert Hofstede’s Cultural dimensions, Malaysia has one of the highest power distance index in the world, with one of the lowest uncertainty avoidance index. It is highly related to the beliefs of Islam and this creates a society where leaders have virtually ultimate power and authority, and the rules, laws, and regulations developed by those in power, reinforce their own leadership and control. It is not unusual for new leadership to arise from armed insurrection – the ultimate power, rather than from diplomatic or democratic change .

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