KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21: Malaysia has embarked on a huge development plan to spread growth and jobs to its Malay-majority hinterlands, but analysts said it faced tough competition for necessary foreign investment.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last month launched a $51 billion development initiative to cut poverty in northern Peninsula Malaysia.

He had already unveiled the Iskandar Development Region in southern Johor state, which aims to attract 50 billion ringgit ($14.2 billion) over five years to turn the area into a new Asian metropolis.

But other Asian nations, such as China, India and fast-growing Vietnam, were luring away key foreign investment, analysts said.—AFPa