National Development Policy

The National Development Policy was a Malaysian economic policy introduced by Mahathir Mohamad, then Prime Minister of Malaysia, with the objective of achieving economic growth, while ensuring that accrued benefits reach all sections of society. The National Development Policy replaced the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1990 but continued to pursue most NEP policies of affirmative action for bumiputera. The Malay share of the economy, though substantially larger, was not near the 30% target according to government figures. In its review of the NEP, the government found that although income inequality had been reduced, some important targets related to overall Malay corporate ownership had not been met. Both Mahathir and the Tunku had expressed concern that the Malays remained too reliant on the Chinese economically. This policy was adopted in 1991 for a period of 10 years and it was succeeded by the National Vision Policy (NVP) in 2001.