Title: Technology policy in Malaysia

Authors: Greg Felker, Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Addresses: Department of Politics, Division of Social Science, Willamette University, 900 State St., Salem, OR 97301, USA. ' Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), United Nations, Two UN Plaza DC2-2324, New York, NY 10017, USA

Abstract: Among newly industrialising economies, Malaysia has mounted notably comprehensive efforts to build a national innovation system. Despite continuously updating Science and Technology (S&T) policies to reflect prevailing understandings of successful innovation strategy, its achievements in technology development are mixed. Invoking Ergas| (1987) binary typology, this study finds that Malaysia|s mission-oriented technology policies have been less successful than diffusion-oriented interventions. The government|s institutional capacities have often been unequal to its more ambitious technology development goals, but sufficient to create effective infrastructure for the deployment and diffusion of advanced technology from abroad. Weak linkages between public sector technology agencies and private enterprises are a second limiting factor. Malaysia|s experience suggests that the scope for deliberate efforts to engineer national innovation systems is constrained by institutional and political factors even when technology policies themselves are comprehensive and up-to-date.

Keywords: science and technology policy; S&T; national innovation system; newly industrialised economies; Malaysia; innovation strategy; technology development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTLID.2007.015402

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2007 Vol.1 No.2, pp.153 - 178

Published online: 14 Oct 2007 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article