Over the last two weeks, we have narrated the story of the tremendous economic success of South Korea and the abysmal failure of South Africa — despite both gaining democracy around the same time (in 1993-1994). Democracy is an ideology, not a solution. In part two, we highlighted the reasons for this diverging economic trajectory — based mostly on the research, analyses and publications of others. We are not experts on the two countries nor are we qualified development economists. We had acknowledged that direct comparisons of coun tries are difficult due to myriad reasons, including differences in demography, size, cultural and historical legacies. But we think one can still draw lessons and decipher contrasting facts, decisions and events as key takeaways. (Scan the QR codes for a refresher.)
"When the support structures are weak, it is short-sighted to replace the furniture as a means to make the home more attractive."
What does it take to get the Malaysian economy back on track? We hope the lessons we have ar ticulated in this three-part series will shed some light and initiate serious discussion.
