ABSTRACT

State-business linkages, particularly ownership of private companies by public enterprises, in Malaysia as well as in most parts of East Asia, have been well documented (Bowie 1991, 1994; Haggard 1990; Hewison et al. 1993; MacIntyre 1994). In Malaysia, there is another dimension to such linkages, that is that political parties in the ruling coalition have owned or controlled major enterprises (see Gomez 1990, 1991, 1994). The extent of direct political party ownership of companies has, however, diminished considerably since the late 1980s. During this period, with active privatization, state ownership of companies has also been reduced, though political control over business has taken on more subtle forms. Politicians now have significant control over major firms. The concept of political business is used here specifically to analyze the evolving links between politicians and large-scale enterprises, with special emphasis on the changing pattern of ownership and control ties of politically well-connected companies.