Industrial relations in Malaysia: some proposals for reform

As Malaysia attempts to transform towards greater capital and technology based industries, all parties are questioning the appropriateness of their current labour laws. This paper considers options for changes within Malaysia’s industrial relations not only in terms of the legislation but also in the practices of the three players: employers, unions and the state. While some changes to the legislation and necessary, legislative change alone will not achieve the high performance workplace relations necessary for Malaysia’s development. The paper outlines a conceptual framework for the type of industrial relations necessary for Malaysia’s development and explains how this might be applied to Malaysia.