mamakk!!!

via Asia Times:

SINGAPORE - Ever since Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi announced soon after taking power in October 2003 that the country was in dire need of deep-reaching economic reforms, the soft-spoken leader has had no peace.

A number of signs are emerging that his administration’s policymakers may have mishandled the country’s macroeconomic balance. Inflation is expected to rise to about 3.6%, the highest level since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, and economists predict it will gallop at similarly high levels over the next two years.

Weak government management, of course, is more politically volatile when the broad economy starts to slow - as is likely to happen next year. Moreover, inter-ethnic and inter-religious tensions, kept in check during Mahathir’s authoritarian rule, are rising under Abdullah’s more consensual administration. And the issues of contention are being articulated more clearly and more publicly in Malaysia’s traditionally subdued society.

For instance, opposition to the continuance of the NEP is mounting, particularly in the wake of a recent independent research report that showed ethnic Malays now hold more than the NEP’s goal of 30% of the country’s total equity. The report has sparked a politically charged debate concerning the technicalities of measurement. More worryingly, inter-faith conflicts are breaking out into the open, involving highly charged cases where non-Muslim families are increasingly being taken to sharia (Islamic law) courts.

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