Why are our economic narratives often convoluted and incohesive? Malaysia is a capitalist country, but why do some economists say we don't have a cohesive capitalist class? We vote for MPs to sit in Parliament, but where else does power reside? What are the competing interests?

We often try to understand Malaysian politics by looking at it through the prism of race and religion. But to understand contemporary politics -- to understand why Malaysia is the way it is and who holds power in our society -- it is more important to look at political economy and how it has evolved over the years. It is important to understand the relationship between the state and the various classes.

Jeremy Lim, secretary of Imagined Malaysia wrote a paper for the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung titled Malaysia’s Incomplete Revolution: From Comprador Capitalism to State-Led Development to State-Dependent Development, which details the shifts in Malaysia’s political economy over the decades. We speak to Jeremy.

Also mentioned in this podcast:
Traditionalism and the Ascendancy of the Malay Ruling Class in Malaya, by Donna J. Amoroso.

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