KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah’s book Striving for Inclusive Development: From Pangkor to a Modern Malaysian State, that charts Malaysia’s economic and social transformation over the past 150 years, was launched by His Royal Highness himself today.
The book which is over 500 pages long traces the evolution of what is now Malaysia from a far-flung colonial trading outpost at the time of the Pangkor Engagement ( Pangkor Treaty) in 1874 to a modern, diversified economy, is divided into five parts from 10 chapters, which chronicle the events and the transformation as well as the people that marked the journey.
“My book charts our country’s fascinating economic history over the past 150 years. It is a journey that demonstrates national perseverance, institutional changes and indeed a long term ‘Striving for Inclusive Development’. Malaysia is what is it today because of the collective contributions of all communities.
“From my childhood to the present, I have experienced how our country has evolved. Just as I have grown older, so too the country has modernised and globalised. I have seen how our people’s fortunes have vacillated during economy cycles and how they have shifted from agricultural-based rural lifestyles to prosperous city-based lifestyle,” he said when launching the book at the St Regis Kuala Lumpur here.
Also present was the Raja Permaisuri Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim.
Sultan Nazrin said to try to unlock the ‘secrets’ of history, he had done an immense amount of ‘looking down’ - researching, spending time in dusty archives and dimly lit libraries and trying to instil some order into complex data sets.
“I’ve talked to numerous scholars and economic historians and consulted with experts across many disciplines. There have been a hundred visions and as many as revisions. I’ve spent many nights squinting at large books. On a healthier note, I believe I have found new perspective on Malaysia’s history,” he said.
‘Striving for Inclusive Development: From Pangkor to a Modern Malaysian State’, makes it clear that the country still faces huge and complex challenges. Building on its analysis of the past, this landmark book concludes with a forward-looking assessment of these challenges and sets out Sultan Nazrin Shah’s vision for an inclusive and sustainable future. — Bernama
