Malaysia isn’t everyone’s idea of inspiration. The prime minister’s office now has its third occupant in less than two years and the economy is struggling to put the Covid-19 recession behind it. So entrenched do the problems of recent years appear that they obscure the country’s history as a financial rebel, and the role that events 23 years ago played in shaping not only contemporary Malaysia but also other emerging markets. This is an anniversary with policy resonance as far as downtown Washington.

Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in an effort to negotiate with the British in London for independence along with the first president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Tun Dato Sri Tan Cheng Lock and fifth President of Malaysian Indian Congress Tun V. T. Sambanthan.