Rising unemployment and inequalities called for a change in direction. From the mid-1960s, the government decided to complement the import-substitution policy with various reforms to promote Malaysian exports, at first of products of resource-based labour-intensive industries (rubber, tin, palm oil and timber). The firms located in these zones enjoyed various advantages, such as financial incentives for firms exporting a significant part of their production, as well as exemptions on import tariffs and social equity obligations associated with the application of the New Economic Policy.