This paper assesses the character of Malaysia's industrial technology development and the role of technology policy and institutions. The developmental goals and challenges which have inspired Malaysia's ambitious technology policies are identified, while recent theoretical perspectives on technological change in developing countries and their policy implications are discussed and highlighted. Next, the paper details the evolution of Malaysian technology policy and institutions, identifying key trends in government and corporate technology strategies.

Malaysia's transition to technology-based industrialisation remains in flux, and diverging interpretations of its nature and prospects are inevitable. Although the evolution of Malaysia's technology policies demonstrates an ability to adjust policy-making in response to new economic circumstances, what is less clear is whether the efforts to elaborate and reform technology policies and institutions have had significant impact on the course of industrialisation thus far, and whether they are likely to do so in the future. As the need for supporting policies and institutions presumably will grow as technology levels rise in the economy, the effort to build a national innovation system remains a critical task.