Regional policy in Malaysia

The Malaysian economy, which in the colonial era was largely dependent on the primary sector, has been transformed towards a more balanced sectoral composition of output and employment accompanied by a substantial rise in per capita incomes since independence. Although the quality of life of the people has been improved in all regions, the impact of regional development policies has not been sufficient to improve the relative position of the less-developed regions and to counterbalance a growing spatial concentration of modern sector activities and population. To achieve this target the dispersal of manufacturing industries and modern services has to be enforced.