Malaysia's Experience with National Development Planning : Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Malaysia stands out for its strong economic performance and resilience over a period of sixty years which delivered rapid and inclusive economic growth to its diverse population. This paper describes and evaluates Malaysia's experience with National Development Planning (NDP). It discusses Malaysia's approach to national planning and how it has successfully driven economic transformation and helped strengthen social cohesion. In particular, it highlights the strengths of the NDP regime, including the strong political support, institutional consistency and the importance placed on engagement and consultation. The paper also highlights the remaining challenges, including effective implementation, institutional misalignments and resourcing challenges, set against a backdrop of rapid economic, social and political change. The results of the assessment should be of interest and relevance to the growing number of countries that have made (or are considering) a return to planning, or countries that are aspiring to undertake their economic transformation