| In 1991, the roadmap for Malaysia to become a developed nation in its own mould by 2020 was crystallized. Called Vision 2020, the strategy called for the sustaining of growth and the initiation of structural changes in the economy, as well as identifying key challenges for the nation to overcome in order to achieve the status of being an industrialized and a fully developed nation. The nine strategic challenges identified were:
Challenge 1: To form a nation that stands as one, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.
Challenge 2: To produce a Malaysian community that has freedom, strength, and full of self-confidence, robust enough to face all manner of adversity, and be distinguished by the pursuit of excellence, fully aware of all its potentials, subservient to none, and respected by the peoples of other nations.
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Challenge 3: To develop a mature democratic community, practising a form of mature consensual, community-oriented Malaysian democracy that can be a model for many developing countries.
Challenge 4: To form a community that has high morale, ethics and religious strength.
Challenge 5: To cultivate a community that is matured and tolerant, in which Malaysians of all colours and creeds are free to practise and profess their customs, cultures and religious beliefs and yet feeling that they belong to one nation.
Challenge 6: To form a progressive scientific community that is innovative and forward-looking. One that is both a consumer of technology and a contributor to the scientific and technological civilisation of the future.
Challenge 7: To cultivate a community rich in values and loving culture, a social system in which society will come before self, in which the welfare of the people will revolve not around the state or the individual but around a strong and resilient family system.
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Challenge 8: To ensure the formation of a community with a fair economy in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation, where there is full partnership in economic progress.
Challenge 9: To cultivate a prosperous community that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.
The test of Malaysia’s resilience against adversity was tested in the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis that afflicted the region.
The successful instituting of a series of policies, including the imposition of selected exchange controls, and the establishment of institutions such as Danaharta and Danamodal to address the issues caused by the crisis resulted in the economy rebounding with a growth rate of 6.1% in 1999 after recording a negative growth rate of 7.4% in 1998. The fiscal and monetary policies introduced also helped to stimulate consumption, while containing inflationary pressures. |