Planning for a Developed State: A Case Study of Melaka

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This research intends to find out whether Melaka is truly a developed state. Even though the state claimed they had achieved developed state status based on benchmarking of 32 indicators and perception of citizen, yet there are major indicators in term of development such as services, dependency ratio that still need improvement. The state capability to ensure their path of development toward developed state remains steep shall be review and properly categorized to increase more guidance for development strategies. However, there is need for deeper understanding on evaluating indicators achievement where different pattern of development between developing and developed states/countries existed. Developed state features had been derived through literature review in order to analyze whether Melaka is a truly developed state. Generally, the findings signified a gap in the element of policy, economic, social, and environmental development. Those policies and strategies toward developed state had been categorized where the weakness, opportunities and threats to Melaka as developed state will be the basis for policy recommendations. There 24 features of developed state that had been set from the existing literature review. It consists of six elements of policy development, seven elements of economic development, seven elements of social development, and four elements of environment development. There are eight strengths, eight opportunities, five weaknesses and three threats of Melaka’s development elements had been identified through these developed state criteria. There were eight opportunities influenced by external environment where major actors need to work together to strengthen these areas. Melaka state government should be able to tackle the six weaknesses stressed in the findings above directly since the internal factors can be controlled and manipulated by state. The state should emphasize on three threats that will potentially cause trouble for their developed state status in the long run if no major changes in external elements.