Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan

At Your ServiceThat started the industrialisation process in Malaysia beginning in the early 1970s.To promote industrial expansion, special assistance and incentives were providedto new and expanding industrial establishments. To provide a new dimension andintensify the structural shift, the Government introduced the First Industrial MasterPlan (IMP, 1986-1995), Malaysia’s first industrial blueprint.This plan put together a coherent and structured framework for industrialdevelopment with specific targets and timelines. Over the years, concertedefforts were taken to promote and accelerate the expansion of the manufacturingsector. This was also the time when the Government embarked on an aggressiveprivatisation strategy with the ultimate aim of reducing the burden on Governmentin financing development. During the period between 1970 and 1987, per capitagross national income in nominal terms grew rapidly at 8.9% per year increasingfrom RM1,070 to RM4,537.In 1988, for the first time, the manufacturingsector became the leading growth sector,when its share of gross domestic productrose to 21.1%, surpassing that of agricultureat 18.6%. This signalled a structural shiftfrom agriculture to a manufacturing basedeconomy.With the successful implementation of the First IMP, the Second IMP (1996-2005) was introduced to bring about a transformation from assembly-intensivemanufacturing to an integrated, industry-wide approach encompassing bothmanufacturing and related services.To further propel manufacturing and modern services into higher value added andtechnology driven sectors, the Third IMP (2006-2020) was introduced in 2006.During the period between 1987 and 2008, per capita gross national incomeincreased further by 8.6% per year from RM4,537 to RM25,784. As a result,Malaysia emerged as one of the most dynamic and vibrant economies in the world.Between 1971 and 2008, Malaysia was among the fastest growing countries in the94