Doctoral Dissertation by Brown, David Walter. 

Introduction: The world’s tropical rain forests are important socially and environmentally as well as by virtue of their contributions to economic growth. As these forests are logged, their social values as generators of rural incomes and their environmental services as biodiversity reserves, carbon sinks, soil reserves, and watersheds tend to diminish. Despite these facts, most governments in the tropics are unable to resist logging these forests in favor of national economic objectives, including: creation of a forest industrial sector, higher employment, positive balance of payments, and increased government revenues. However, given the high economic stakes that can be obtained from their forests, it is seems counterintuitive that tropical governments rarely succeed in optimally harnessing government revenue from this valuable natural resource. This staggering lossof revenue to developing countries obviously has important implications for economic development. Timber revenue could be used, for example, to finance the kind of
strategic industrial policies that allow the high performing Asian economies to achieve high levels of economic growth. This dissertation argues that states with rain forests are often unable to collect optimal revenue from the massive profit earned by timber companies that harvest state forests because this profit already has a hidden destination. Heads of state and their political supporters are siphoning off these moneys to become phenomenally wealthy. This dissertation focuses on the institutional conditions that determine whether "economic rent" earned from harvesting tropical rain forests ends up in government treasuries or in the private bank accounts of political elites.

Within the Malaysian Federation, Sarawak has a small public sector. Over time, the State Government is increasing its expenditure and revenue to slightly more than the Federal Government’s share in the state. State Government revenue has been dependent on depleting natural resources such as forests, lands and mines, indicating its constraints in continuing overall deficits to finance development. The Federal Government has also incurred overall deficits because of development expenditure, which should be more than adequately covered by non-tax revenues such as royalties from petroleum production in the state. Publication: 4th International Malaysian Studies Conference; 3-5 August 2004, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.  Author: Wee, Chong Hui.

There are two main themes explored in this paper. The first theme analyses the political change of the KD from 1981 to 2003. An analysis of elections results both at the state and parliamentary levels will be adopted to examine the extent to which the KD’s voting behaviour to a particular party or individual has changed and subsequently influenced their political alignment. The second theme focuses on the course and consequences of socio-economic development during the same period. Both themes are examined against the backdrop of the Mahathir era.  Publication: 4th International Malaysian Studies Conference; 3-5 August 2004, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi. Authors: Arnold Puyok & Jurin W. Gunsalam.

In the article, Gill records and examines the history and identity of ethnic Sikh in The North Borneo Armed Constabulary in Northen Borneo (now Sabah) during Bristish Colonial period. Article written in Malay. Publication: 4th International Malaysian Studies Conference; 3-5 August 2004, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.Author: Sarjit S. Gill.