The NEP or New Economic Policy was introduced in 1971 to reduce the economic divide between the Malays and the other races in the country by according them special rights, privileges and preferences in order to aid them in bettering themselves. A main contributing factor was the infamous "May 13" incident in 1969 when a riot flared between the Malays and the Chinese. The NEP remains in effect till the present day.
Tun Abdul Razak also consolidated more political parties into the Alliance Party, renaming it the National Front or "Barisan Nasional" the party has remained firmly the people's choice and the driving force of progress in Malaysia to the present day. For his contributions to the country Tun Abdul Razak will is remembered as the Father of Development.
With the untimely passing away of Tun Abdul Razak in 1976, the third Malaysian prime minister, Tun Hussein Onn, later to be known as The Father of Unity took over the task of guiding Malaysia's fortunes. From his background as a soldier, a police commandant in Johor and later a district officer in Selangor, Tun Hussein Onn was instilled with a deep concern for the welfare of the people. Thusly his policies were directed along similar lines as Tun Abdul Razak's with a deep emphasis on public order and unity of the races, public security and safety was also greatly emphasized and Malaysia's harsh anti drug laws were vigorously enforced.
Tun Hussein Onn's was also responsible for the implementation of the National Unit Trust Scheme, implemented in 1981 and before that the Rukun Tetangga, a neighborhood watch / militia plan to curb rising crime. Poor health and a heart surgery in 1981 caused Tun Hussein to step down as Prime Minister in the same year. The next Prime Minister would be a visionary who would put Malaysia firmly in the spotlight of the international community.
Dato' Sri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the fourth Malaysian Prime Minister began an aggressive campaign to turn Malaysia's economy from being primarily agricultural based to one concentrated towards manufacturing and electronics. To attract foreign investors and to rally the support of the people to his plans, he began the construction, not of monuments (though that is the generally perceived notion) but a sense of identity and strength.
By building the first national car, the third longest suspension bridge in the world, the tallest building in the world, the Multimedia Super Corridor, the most modern and high tech airport, and a host of other high profile projects, Dr. Mahathir planned to unite the people behind these achievements from such a small and young country, to forge a sense of pride and nationalism that Malaysians need not be timid, submissive and insignificant in the eyes of the international community. Vision 2020, Dr. Mahathir's plans to transform Malaysia into a fully developed and industrialized nation in 25 years is perhaps the most ambitious of all.
Through his visionary leadership Malaysia experienced an economic boom with double digit GDP growth rates throughout the early and mid nineties. However the Malaysian economy was badly affected during the 1997 Asian currency crisis in which many regional economies were ruined as rampant speculation caused currency values into an uncontrolled downward spiral. A year later further problems occurred when Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Deputy Prime Minister was sacked by the Dr. Mahathir, this brought on several street protests from Anwar's supporters which in turn further aggravated the already weak economic situation.
Throughout his term Dr. Mahathir has been a strident voice for the rights of smaller, less developed nations as well as for the limiting of the sweeping political clout of the world's superpowers. Although at times drawing criticism for his very vocal championing of certain sensitive issues in a plain forthright style, Dr. Mahathir has however maintained the approval and support of the vast majority of Malaysians as evident in Barisan Nasional's decisive victories in every national election during his term.
Malaysia is now well on the road to economic recovery and facing new challenges in globalization and an increasingly smaller and more competitive world.