Industrialization in Malaysia, a penang micro-study

It found that growth in industrializaton was due to a combination of Penang"s market potentialities, port and infrastructure and cheap and trainable labor supply, supported by an aggressive economic program and the attractiveness of Malaysia"s investment incentives and political stability. Benefits from industrialization are viewed in terms of goals of decreasing unemployment and strengthening and two prongs of the Second Malaysia Plan that call for eradicating poverty and redressing racial imbalance. It was found that large numbers were being newly employed and that they included a disproportionate percentage of Malays (given Penang"s large Chinese population). However, two out of three recently employed have been women. The new industries are helping to support the Second Malaysia Plan with increased employment, wages and Malay inclusion in the modern sector. Again, there are problems due to Chinese and foreign control over capital and management. Finally, complaints from firms regarding experiences with various levels of government are generally those to be expected during the development of a new industrialization program. Of greater long-term importance is the future implementation of policies directed toward bringing Malays into all levels of industry and any establishment of worker quotas based upon national rather than state or local racial composition.