Foreword: A foreword written by a high ranking policy maker or Government official. This will provide a Malaysian viewpoint on the book as well as further context and authenticity to what will follow.
1. The current state of the Malaysian Economy: statistics regarding economic performance. Reflections from key stakeholders.
This chapter will be a general introduction into Malaysia as a country and its economic history. Starting with the 1991 publication of the First Industrial Master Plan and the Vision 2002, and showing the development of the nation as an economic actor as well as the increasingly role of bodies like Majilis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and the SME bank, this chapter provides a solid foundation of knowledge on the economic history of Malaysia since its independence from the UK in 1957. The chapter will explain the geo-economic context, the importance of the peninsular and island contexts, the Federation of Malaysia and the ASEAN region. The chapter will end by identifying the key drivers for change including the country's failure to achieve developed nation status and the role of entrepreneurship in helping Malaysia to exploit the knowledge and energy of its people as well as its natural resources.
2. The cultural and societal distinctiveness Malaysia: Statistics and narrative outlining the distinctive nature of the Malaysian socio-cultural context and its place within the wider ASEAN region. This will include introductions to the 13 states and 3 federal territories that comprise peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). Geographically, Malaysia has a history as a crossroads for international maritime trade and this has led to a diversity of cultures, religions and peoples. The chapter will conclude by summarising the opportunities and challenges that the cultural and societal reality of the country represent for those wishing to see entrepreneurship play its role in economic development.
3. Entrepreneurship policy and its development in Malaysia: Public sector activity and the policy context including SME bank and the key Government policies. Having set out the wider context, this chapter will explain how entrepreneurship policy has developed in Malaysia since independence and the formation of the federation. This will include an account of key policies and the bodies which have been set up to enforce them as well as a review of their impact.
4. Entrepreneurship Education in Malaysia: current provision and reflections from key stakeholders.
This chapter will provide two perspectives - a review of the academic literature on entrepreneurship education in Malaysia as well as an account of the current programmes, practices and norms for entrepreneurship education in Malaysia. The chapter will argue that, while the policies for entrepreneurship education have placed it front and centre within the Government's recent policies for education and in particular higher education, there has been a lack of criticality in the assessment of the effectiveness of the programmes as well as a period of hysteresis where systems and support mechanisms to bring practice in line with the policy have retarded progress. The chapter will go on to discuss the effectiveness of programs and processes put in place for educators and compare with the practice from other nations.
5. Entrepreneurial Eco-systems in Malaysia: Reflections on the attitudes and structures developed by governments to support Entrepreneurial activity. This chapter will provide evaluation and comparison of the entrepreneurial support and structures put in place by the Public Sector in Malaysia. As many of the these structures
About the Author:
Paul Jones is Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Swansea University's School of Management, UK.
Louisa Huxtable-Thomas is Associate Professor and a founder of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Swansea University's School of Management. Combining theories and empirical knowledge from the business, social science, education and psychology disciplines, her work revolves around building resilient leaders and organisations.
Syahira Hamidon is Senior Director in the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development, Malaysia. Her role is to formulate, update, implement and coordinate the national entrepreneurship policy of Malaysia. She is also in charge of matters pertaining to social entrepreneurship development, vendor programmes of key public corporations as well as entrepreneur development and capacity building.
Paul Hannon is Professor and Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Swansea University, UK. He has helped shape entrepreneurial development as a Chief Executive, Government Adviser, Academic Director and Professor.
Norngaoiny Binti Mohd Tawil is an Associate Professor at Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, UKM with a PhD in Property Finance from University of Malaya.
