Towards a Reorientation of Theory and Research on Development in Malaysia: A Critical Evaluation of Current Ontological and Epistemological Assumptions

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to discuss a type of social scientific theorizing in an attempt to expand the paradigms and the analytical frameworks in the study of Malaysia's corporate organisations specifically, and Malaysia's development issues at the more general level. The examination of this 'new' type of theorizing is based on four points of contentions which delineate the ontological and epistemological limitations of major paradigms in today's development discourse with references to literature on organisations. Simultaneously, the four contentions provide strategies in transcending these weaknesses for future social research. In addition, this article also offers a brief critique on specific issues with regards to ethnicity, global versus local factors, and state-centredness. In doing so, it identifies vital gaps within the mainstream development literature. It submits that there is insufficient discussion or theorising on how the major social forces and social relations converge and interact to shape the various social realities in Malaysia. This article, in essence, argues that in a poly-centric social reality, a uni-centric analysis is inadequate. It proposes that through this new type of theorizing, these limitations can be managed.