The plan allocates the national budget from 2006 to 2010 in regard to all economic sectors in Malaysia.
The blueprint was announced on 31 March 2006, and was unveiled by the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Parliament.
The economic development plan was unveiled at a time when Malaysia was starting to recover from the Asian financial crisis and challenging economic conditions as a result of high oil prices.
The US-led Iraq invasion in 2003 resulted in a rise in oil prices to about US$60/barrel by August 2005, which was a few months before the plan was unveiled.
[1] These two factors were mentioned in Prime Minister's speech when tabling the Ninth Malaysia Plan on 31 March 2008 besides SARS, bird flu, and the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami.