ABSTRACT
Between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s, Malaysia’s privatization programme was one of the most extensive in the developing world, both in terms of scale and scope. By 2001, the state was restructuring, bailing out and taking over major companies involved in privatized enterprises or projects. This culminated in the renationalization of four of the largest privatizations (subject of the subsequent case study chapters). What happened? Failure occurred on two levels (institutional and political) before (ex ante) and after (ex post) privatization. These failures can best be explained by asking why Malaysia privatized in the first place because political motivations will affect privatization decisions, institutional arrangements and outcomes. This is turn requires an examination of the country’s political context, namely changes in social relations and the balance of power, and how these constrained the state’s capacity to make the correct ex ante and ex post decisions.
