Volume 29, Issue 1-2 pp. 245-256
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THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS

C. GAMBA

C. GAMBA

University of Malaya.

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First published: May 1953
Citations: 2

Footnotes

  • 1 Under-developed areas have been defined an those in which per capita real income is low when compared with the per capita real income of fully industrialized countries. Alternatively. “uda” are areas exporting mostly food and raw materials and importing manufactured products. See: U.N.O., E/1986/ST/ECA/10, Measures for the Economic Development of Under-Devaloped Countries, p 3. N.Y., 1851.
  • 2 See: Government of India, The First Five-Year Plan, A Summary. New Delhi, 8th December 1952.
  • 3 These figures include Indonesia, Burma, Thailand. India, Pakistan and Malaya. For fuller statistics see: U. N., Economic Survey of Asia and the Far East, 1947 to 1957. (N.Y.)
  • 4 See: I.L.O., The Economic Background of Social Pdicy including Problem of Industralisation. New Delhi, 1947.
  • 5 See: Measures for Economic Development, op. cit, Chap. III.
  • 6 Quoted in E.C.A.F.E.: Mobilisation of Domestic Capital in Certain Countries of Asia and the Far East, pp. 10–11. Bangkok, 1951. The Economic Bulletin for Asia and the Far East, January-June 1962. Vol. III. Nos. 1–2. p. 2, Bangkok, November 1952, states: “… it may be calculated that public investment expenditures in Asia in 1950 were, in relation to national income, approximately, Burma 2.4 per cent. Ceylon 4.5 per cent, India 2.5 per cent, Malaya 0.5 per cent and Philippines 2.1 per cent. Assuming no additional incentive to private investment in most of the Asian countries. it would take something like a doubling of the present rate of public investment to reach an adequate level.”
  • 7 Sea, e.g.: Lasker, B., Human Bondage in South-east Asia (University of North Carolina, 1950).
  • 8 Kongsi is the normal Chinese term for a business partnership. Sometimes it holds political implications, and, in some cases it refers to mutual benefit societies. see Purcell, V., The Chinese in Malaya, pp. 78-9, and The Chinese in South-east Asia, pp. 328-9.
  • 9 Economic survey, op. cit., p. 65.
  • 10 See, e.g.: Labour Reports by the Controller of Labour: Reports by the Labour Department: Straits Settlements, Malayan Union and Federation of Malaya, various years. Also I.L.O.: Basic Problems of Plantation Labour, Geneva, 1950, and Pillai, P. P. (ed.): Labour in South-east Asia, New Delhi, 1947.
  • 11 See: Mitchell. K. L., Industrialization of the Western Pacific, Chaps. VI-VIII. (I.P.R., N.Y., 1942.)
  • 12 Also social and Political. See, e.g.: Thompson, V., Post-Mortem in Malay, N.Y., 1943; Shelvankar, K. S., The Problem of India (Penguin, 1940).
  • 13 But see also: Pelzer, K. J., Population and Land Utilization (I.P.R.), N.Y., 1941; Economic Survey, op. cit., 1947. and I.L.O., Economic Backgroud, op. cit., p. 22. The size of the average “agricultural holding” would be larger.
  • 14 See: Bauer, P.T., Report on a Visit to the Rubber Growing Smallholdings of Malaya, H.M.S.O., 1948.
  • 15 Section 11 (1) of the Post Office Savings Bank Ordinance, 1948, reads: “Subject to the provision of this Ordinance monies in the Savings Bank shall not be applied in any way to the purposes of the Federation but, except so far as any sums may be assigned to be kept in hand for the general purposes of the Savings Bank, shall, as far as practicable, be invested on behalf of the Savings Bank, under the direction of the Financial Secretary, in such securities or be employed at interest in such manner as shall be approved from time to time by the High Commissioner, or, in the case of monies remitted to London for investment, by the Secretary of State, and any such investment may at any time be changed into other like securities: Provided that no more than one-third of such monies shall at any time be or remain invented in Malayan Government securities.”
  • 16 Malaya is today one of the two larger dollar earners in the sterling area. Yet, she is permitted to use only a fraction of such earnings while the remainder is piling up in sterling balances, now about £250,000,000, the value of which is gradually falling. See also: Aziz, A., Some Aspects of the Malayan Rural Economy Related to Measures for Mobilising Rural Savings, U.N.O., E/CN/11/I&T/WP1/L18, 13/11/1951. Bangkok.
  • 17 Measures for Economic Development. op. cit., p. 35.
  • 18 Utilization of Domestic Capital, op. cit., pp. 53–6.
  • 19 In Malaya, these certificates are often seen framed and hung on the bedroom or dining-room wall.
  • 20 Refers especially to language as well as to method. In many cases transactions are entirely by word of mouth. In others, several sets of books may be kept, a spurious one presented to the authorities, who would have little chance to counter-check. In Malaya where the Taxation Departments function probably more efficiently than anywhere else in the region, not including China-a separate case-evasion, in 1951, was estimated at 60 per cent of total taxable population in the Federation and at 84 per cent for the Colony of Singapore.
  • 21 To a degree this is already a fact. For instance, a ferry and landing jetties were needed at Sungei Selipon, Kelantan, Malaya. The Malayan Rural and Industrial Development Authority (R.I.D.A.)-a purely national organization-contributed £1,900 for the cost of the materials and the local People provided the (free) labour. See also: Gamba, C., and Aziz, A., Steps in Malayan Economic Development, For Eastern Survey, Vol. XX, No. 17, 10th October 1951, N.Y.
  • 22 First Five-Year Plan, op. cit., p. 9.
  • 23 See: Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and South-east Asia, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Government of Pakistan, p. 65.
  • 24 Economic Bulletin, op. cit., p. 11.
  • 25 During the last two paragraphs one has not included Malaya—a colony following the directive of British autarkic policy.
  • 26 For the import of goods beyond what the region may be able to pay for out of its current exports.
  • 27 In terms of saving For U.S.A. financial assistance to the south-east Asian countries see, e.g.: Eastern World, Vol. VI, No. 8, p. 39, August 1952.
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