Intellectuals in Developing Societies

by Syed Hussein Alatas

First published in 1977. During a time of reflection after the author’s withdrawal from active politics after four years of effort in Malaysia to promote an alternative to the present government this book was written. His experience as the national chairman of an opposition party, between 1968 and 1971, and presence in the Malaysian Senate in 1971 brought him face to face with problems that were in many ways generated by the type of elites ruling the country and circumstances.

146 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2018

About the author

Syed Hussein Alatas (September 17, 1928 – January 23, 2007) was a Malaysian academician, sociologist, founder of social science organizations, and former politician. He was once Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya in the 1980s, and formed the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan). Syed Hussein wrote several books on corruption, multi-racialism, imperialism, and intellectual captivity as part of the colonial, and post colonial, project, the most famous being The Myth of the Lazy Native.

Reviews

[Renard Chua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this in Kinokuniya KL, and the title and the cover featuring Filipino National Hero, Jose Rizal immediately piqued my interest, which made me buy the book.

Reading it through the lens of a born and raised Filipino, I found that even though it was first written in 1977, which is nearly five decades ago, the mainly themes remain strikingly relevant to the current Philippine context, despite the author being Malaysian. Many of the issues discussed are still prevalent today and continue to mirror current social and political realities in the Philippines.

Personally, I agree with most of the key-points raised by the author, and why developing countries still struggle in terms of overall growth in their respective countries. One downside is that it leans toward an academic writing style, which led to some points being repeated throughout. Still, the core arguments came through clearly, making it a worthwhile read overall.

I believe readers from other developing countrie, such as India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, would also find the book highly resonant with their own current situations.