Misgovernance: Grand Corruption in Malaysia
Author : Edmund Terence Gomez
Publisher : Penguin Books
ISBN : 9789815233919
Call Number : 320.95957 GOM
Summary:
How does a misgoverned public ecosystem remain legitimate while undermining the economy and destabilizing the political system? In Malaysia, the extensive abuse of power by governing elites, who control government-linked companies (GLCs), contributes to grand corruption, including cronyism, collusion, selective patronage, embezzlement, and nepotism. The long list of government-business controversies between 1980 and 2023, including the 1MDB scandal, indicates the presence of a covert and extremely powerful Political-GLC Complex controlled by the Malaysian Cabinet of Ministers. Misgovernance provides insights into the inner workings of this monstrous GLC ecosystem, riddled with graft and political abuse. The insights from the data and case studies in the book point to three major paradoxes that need to be addressed to uproot this malaise. The covert and deeply disturbing political-economic trends analysed in the book indicate the urgent need to rethink the meaning of 'corruption' itself.