Shifting the policy goal from environment to sustainable development

Over the last five decades Malaysia has undergone rapid economic and social change, partly driven by its rich endowment of natural resources. Heavy reliance on natural resources was a salient feature of the economy from colonial days up until the 1970s. ¹ But while Malaysia’s impressive economic achievements have advanced human development and reduced poverty, the pursuit of socio-economic progress has been accompanied by an unprecedented rate of change in the natural environment.