Industrial development strategy for Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review the progress of Malaysia's industrialisation effort since Independence and explore the prospects and strategies for industrial development in the 1980s. Section II reviews the key objectives, policies and consequential performance as well as structural changes in the industrial sector of the country from 1957 to 1980. In the process of the review, an attempt is made to draw lessons for conceiving future development strategy. Section III is a summary analysis of the several leading growth industries of recent years while Section IV analyses the growth prospects of the four leading industries of the 1970s in the 1980s. Section V is a recapitulation of da major structural changes in the Malaysian economy which could have a bearing on future development. Based on the reviews from Sections be II to V, section VI highlights some possible strategies for Malaysian industrial development with cursory looks at the philosophy of economic development and announced Government policies for the Fourth Malaysia Plan, 1981-1985. Throughout the paper, issues have been raised with a view to further in-depth research. Even though policy recommendations have been raised in various places, the primary objective is really to focus the attention of policy makers and researchers onto critical areas in Malaysia's present state of economy. Unless efforts are put into researching these critical areas, policy recommendations could be premature or even rash. In that sense, this is a paper to raise questions and establish research priorities with a view to policy formulation. Thus, the paper has no conclusion.