SOAS Research Online

Abstract

National socio-economic development planning in Peninsular Malaysia is guided by the New Development strategy which resulted from the race-riots of May 1969 - events which were themselves clear indication that Peninsular Malaysia lacked national unity. The New Development Strategy has two components, Rukun Negsira (the National Ideology) and the New Economic Policy. The New Economic Policy aims to eradicate poverty and to restructure the socio-economic system in order to remove the inter-communal imbalances which were identified as the root causes of disharmony in the country. In this way it is hoped to create national unity in Peninsular Malaysia. A major weapon in the government's bid to implement the New Economic Policy is the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA). Since its establishment in 1956, FELDA has become not merely Peninsular Malaysia's foremost land developer, but has been raised by the Malaysian government to premier status among agencies implementing national socio-economic development policy.;The present study assesses the ability of the Federal Land Development Authority to comply with the Malaysian government's requirement that through land development FELDA be a major contributor to the attainment of national unity in Peninsular Malaysia. The assessment is undertaken by first analysing the reasons why planning failed to create national unity before 1969, and - in the light of the knowledge gained from this analysis - by then assessing FELDA's qualifications for meeting the responsibilities placed upon it by the post-1969 Plans designed to rectify the situation of socio-economic imbalance. The study considers the nature of inter-communal imbalance in Peninsular Malaysia, and indicates the political and other constraints which govern planning approaches. The study concludes by presenting the main findings regarding the Federal Land Development Authority's ability to contribute to the attainment of national unity in Peninsular Malaysia, with particular attention paid to FELDA's ability to contribute to the implementation of the government's New Economic Policy in the Malay-dominated rural areas.