Discoursing Malaysian development: The contrasting traits of public intellectuals

Intellectuals inspire, articulate and drive a nation’s development. Or do they really? This article takes a closer look at the myth or reality of Malaysian development intellectuals by examing their individual and cultural traits and typology. In the light of contemporary literature and Malaysian unique cultural milieus and worldviews it is found that there are at least two distinct types of development intellectuals informing the discourse of Malaysian development : one that labours genuine thoughts on what proper and sound national development should be , and the other that mainly hypes what is popular or ought to be popularized.