The Role of Social Sciences in Malaysian National Development

The subject of my paper, “The Role of Social Sciences in Malaysian National Development”, may seem defensive as though social sciences are on the retreat, and that its relevance has to be justified despite the fact that our society has become far more complex today than ever before. However, I am addressing far larger concerns, namely the importance of investing in social sciences for the benefit of our Malaysian nation and our future. Malaysia has embarked on the path of development through export-oriented industrialisation, urbanisation, rural development, foreign trade, integration with the world market, and participation in the globalisation process. Without meaning to blow our own trumpet, the score card is that we have not done badly and our achievements have been impressive. We are one of the most developed and industrialised nations in the Third World, one of the most successful among the Muslim countries and the 18th largest trading nation in the world. The last two decades of the twentieth century were periods of rapid economic growth and increasing prosperity - a period of boom. Although hit temporarily by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, Malaysia did not go bust; its growth picked up again, and it is now moving forward to become a developed nation by 2020. To realise this vision, the new Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has introduced a number of over-arching plans – the National Mission as contained in the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the Third Industrial Master Plan, the National Integrity Plan, and several others.