Malaysia is a country on the move. From a country dependent on agriculture and primary commodities in the sixties, Malaysia has today become an export-driven economy spurred on by high technology, knowledge-based and capital-intensive industries

The structural transformation of Malaysia's economy over the last 40 years has been spectacular. Often dubbed the "lucky country" because of its wealth of mineral resources and fertile soils, Malaysia did not rest on its laurels but took decisive steps to progress from an economy dependent on agriculture and primary commodities to a manufacturing-based, export-driven economy spurred on by high technology, knowledge-based and capital-intensive industries.

Today, Malaysia offers the world its Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) which brings together a legislative framework and a next-generation telecommunications infrastructure in eco-friendly surroundings to create the best environment for the development of multimedia industries.

During the last decade, the Malaysian economy achieved average annual growth rates of about 7% while GDP doubled to reach an estimated RM219.4 billion (US$57.7 billion) in 2002. Exports and imports have almost quadrupled to reach RM349.6 billion (US$92.0 billion) and RM298.5 billion (US$78.6 billion) respectively, placing Malaysia among the world's top 20 trading nations.

The manufacturing sector now accounts for 30.4% of Malaysia's GDP while exports of manufactured goods make up 86.5% of the country's total exports. From being the world's largest producer of rubber and tin, Malaysia is today one of the world's leading exporters of semiconductor devices, computer hard disk drives, audio and video products, and room air-conditioners.

Malaysia's rapid industrialisation was the result of the country opening itself relatively early in the 1960s to foreign direct investments (FDI). Today, its market-oriented economy, combined with an educated workforce and a well-developed infrastructure, has made Malaysia one of the largest recipients of FDI among developing countries.

The last decade has seen a deepening and widening of Malaysia's industrial base as well as the further development of its services sector. As such, a strong foundation has been laid for the economy to move forward into the new globalised environment. In the coming decade, an important policy component in Malaysia's development plans will be to enhance the knowledge content of the economy. There will be intensive research and technology development with support from venture capitalists and with ICT as the enabling technology.

The next 10 years will see a greater emphasis on human resource enhancement; skilled and knowledge workers being among the major pre-requisites to transform Malaysia from a production-based into a knowledge-based economy.

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