Malaysia, as in many developing countries, is placing heavy emphasis on industrialization for two main reasons. One, industriazation is regarded as an effective means of generating productive employed and, two, industrialization is needed to diversify the economic base of the country so as to make it less dependent on exports of primary commodities such as rubber, tin, oil palm and timber. It also offers prospects of a transfer of technology which should lead to upgrading of skills and the qu...

The long term development path of the nation, involving growth and distribution, had in fact been charted under the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the Outline Perspective Plan, 1971-90. The NEP, which has national unity as its overriding objective, basically seeks to achieve the following: - a real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 8% per annum; - eradication of poverty through increases in productivity, income and employment and the provision of basic amenities; - reduction of existi...

In general, two broad categories of food policies can be identified. One is self-sufficiency food policy (at any cost?), and the other is food production with economic efficiency. There are two aspects of economic efficiencies. At the micro level, or the farm level, economic efficiency generally refers to optimal use of resources in the production process to get the highest possible output. Economic efficiency at the macro level, on the other hand, suggests production of food which you have t...

I am not sure what is expected of me on this occassion, but is seems to me that I cannot do better than give a few of my thoughts on the likely prospects for the energy industry in Malaysia over the decade particularly the oil industry and the enormous challenges, which we have to face. If you remember the keynotes of the '50s and '60s were growth and expansion. The survival of the advanced economies was dependent on the yearly increase in Gross National Product (GNP), producing more goods fo...