Malaysia is generally regarded as one of the most successful examples of a non-Western country that has achieved a relatively smooth transition to modern economic system. The main reason for this is that Malaysia has substantial mines of primary resources that the nation has been able to export to industrialized countries. The Malay Peninsula has substantial deposits of tin. International demand for tin is high because of the demand for tin in such products as canned food. However, during the 1970s, the nation attempted to expand its range of exports and types of industrial development, mainly due to the economic concerns of a nation becoming overly dependant upon the export of primary, non-renewable resources. (Drabble, 2006).

             Environmental concerns were also a factor. Traditionally, tin was mined in Malaysia from ore deposits close to the surface. Difficulties with seasonal flooding limited the depth of mining, making concerns about the sustainability of the mining industry particularly of a concern. Also, because of the weather, the mining activity was seasonal. This made the employment of local workers unstable as well, although frequently other laborers had to be imported into Malaysia from other nations during the height of the mining season. (Drabble, 2006) Technology had enabled deeper mining, as well as made mining more efficient through rinsing the ore with hoses in pools, but weather conditions and the limits of any natural resource meant that improvements in efficiency could not generate a limitless source of national income.

             During the 1970s, the government resolved to wean the Malaysian economy from its excessive dependence on tin and rubber. Prewar experience had shown in other nations that such a dependence on primary mined resources and a lack of industrial development would be an unstable basis for the long-term development of a modern economy. Also, there was a fear that new types of containers and products might be developed to render the need for tin obsolete.