For several decades after its independence in 1957, Malaysia rode on a high. The world sat up to take stock of this young nation’s potential to rise as one of Asia’s tigers-in-the-making.
Malaysia witnessed strong economic growth and, in a relatively short period of time, rose to the ranks of the middle-income countries. With a steadily growing gross domestic product [GDP] per capita based on resource wealth and an open, export-based economy, standards of living improved, as did access to high-quality education and public healthcare.