Decolonisation and the Pergau Dam Affair

On February 25th, 1994, Malaysia announced a ban on the awarding of government contracts to British firms. General trade was not covered, and orders already in the pipeline meant that exports to Malaysia significantly increased in the first six months of 1994. Nevertheless, major British contractors faced the prospect of losing multi-million-pound government projects for infrastructure, power projects and a second national airport. For although Malaysia’s economy is several times smaller than Britain’s, it has recently been in the world top five for growth.