Lelo Nxumalo

I am presently working on a growth diagnostic project for the Malaysian economy. As with any diagnostic, an appreciation of the growth history of the country under study is necessary for one to say anything meaningful about growth prospects. (The outcome of the diagnosis will be published later this year). During the course of my research, I have discovered interesting parallels in the origins of Malaysia and Zimbabwe's redistribution policies after independence. Several years after independence from Britain (Malaysia in 1957 and Zimbabwe in 1980) both countries went through violent racial strife brought about by unresolved issues from their decolonization processes. Malaysia had gotten independence from the British but the Malay majority still had poor economic prospects compared to their Chinese counterparts and, to a lesser extent, their Indian compatriots. This is not to say there were no Malays among Malaysia's elite at the time. After all, the constitution had assure...