Asian Angle | Malaysia’s 13th plan offers pocket-sized reforms for a middle-income quagmire
With a focus on economic complexity and social mobility, the 13th Malaysia Plan aims to address decades of underperformance and stagnation
The 13th Malaysia Plan, launched under the striking mission of “redesigning development”, extends a planning tradition that is now seven decades old but continues to anchor the nation’s development strategy and public investment.
The plan seeks to answer two enduring questions: how can Malaysia climb the value chain and how can more Malaysians share in its gains?
These challenges are not new. For half a century, Malaysian policymakers have spoken of climbing the ladder of productivity and technology. Today, officials frame the ambition in new-fangled terms – “economic complexity” and “social mobility” – but the underlying mission is pretty much the same.
