text: tional Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Govern­ ment's central planning agency, would have in operation a system of macro-level indicators for monitoring and measuring progress towards national development goals; and NEDA and the Government's line agencies would regularly and systematically use valid methodologies and indicators for measuring and monitoring project progress and impact. D. THE MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE .102. As yet, the development of social indicators in Malaysia was not entirely sufficient for their application to the planning process. The collection of social statistics had not been designed with develop­ ment planning in mind. Often the appropriate statistics were not avail­ able. When data were available they were inadequate and obsolete, failing to measure the attainment of specific national goals or the geo­ graphical distribution of the benefits of development. 103. Several guidelines were suggested for developing social indicators in Malaysia which would permit them to be used for planning purposes. Social indicators should measure progress towards national objectives and priorities. The more serious the social concerns, the more closely should they be monitor~d. Social indicators should emphasize the ends rather than the means of development. All social progress must be considered to be measurable. Key social indicators should be measured at least annually, as were· economic indicators. Indicators should err on the safe side. E. THE IRANIAN EXPERIENCE 104. Three problems were encountered in applying social indicators to planning: 25 (a) The routine-bound ways of thinking of those responsible for planning; (b) Methodological difficulties which the planners had to over­ come; . (c) Lack of knowledge of the interrelationships between eco­ nomic and social variables. 105. Based on the idea of the unitary approach to planning, a project had been initiated for the application of social indicators to social planni~g. The project consisted of two parts: part one dealt with devising 
analysis: The text appears to be discussing the use of social indicators in development planning, specifically in the context of government agencies and national development goals. The text mentions the importance of measuring progress towards national objectives and priorities, and the need for social indicators to be regularly updated and used in planning processes. This suggests that the text is focused on macro-level development planning and policy-making, rather than specific sectors or industries.