Our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announces on Tuesday the highly anticipated New Economic Model (NEM) that aims to transform the country into a high-income nation.
No groups will be marginalized and the essential needs of the people will be satisfied, according to the NEM.
Under the NEM, inclusiveness will enable all communities to contribute to and share in the wealth of the country.
Below are some of the keypoints of Najib’s speech:
1.Petronas has identified two subsidiaries to be listed on Bursa Malaysia.
2.Government and EPF to jointly develop 3,000 acres of land in Sungai Buloh that will produce activities worth RM5bil
3.Pos Malaysia to get new investor; wages to be improved
4.Khazanah Holdings to divest its investment in Pos Malaysia after detailed study and review of postal services
5.EPF will be allowed to invest more money overseas to get better returns.
Sure boh? at present moment, return to us was getting lower these few years, are we confident enough to invest outside?
6.Government to allow private sector investment in GLCs through new coalition of public-private sector
7.MIDA to be corporatised to make it more flexible, empowered to draw in more investment, including offering instant investment incentives. It is to be renamed Malaysian Investment Development Authority.
Name change but mentality still the same. Probably more overseas trips for the officers but no visible actions after that…
8.Private sector innovation to be supported
9.Modernisation of our education to create a world-class workforce is imperative to achieve high income nation status.
What kinda modernisation? English was replaced with BM as the teaching medium in schools…..Quota for University admission still prevails….school subjects still do not include practical industrial subjects or knowledges….
10.Special Economic Reform unit will be set up to ensure the successful implementation of the NEM and the choosing of economic activities that will be declared as National Key Economic Activities or the country’s economic champions.
11.Government has identified 6 National Key Economic Activities to be the engines of growth to generate high growth rates including oil and gas, electronic and electrical, Tourism, Agriculture and Financial Services
12.There’s a need to change rent-seeking and patronage system that has wracked our old system and the NEM must overcome this
13.NEM will focus on inclusiveness where all Malaysians of all races will contribute….
14.The NEM aims to take Malaysia to a high income country with per capita income of US$15,000, from the current US$7,000, in 10 years
I am particularly doubt with this committment as I remembered very well when I was in my early 20s, the income per capital was about US$4000+ and it took 13 years to achieve today US$7000. So if we needed 13 yrs just to advance by about 3k, to reach 15k, we need definitely >10 years….by this calculation, at least 30 yrs,that will be 2040!! This was the ranking in 2003….Malaysia was at 51st position, Singapore @ 21st….
15. Government relooking at the subsidy system and introduction of GST which are common sense policies that need to be implemented
16.The NEM report by NEAC is 160 pages and warns that Malaysia can fall further behind its neighbour
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This NEM is part of the four key thrusts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s agenda.
The others are the 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now concept; the Government Transformation Programme (GTP); and the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).
I heard enough of Propaganda management from our PM…..We need immediate actions and changes in the 6 core National Key Economic Activities,said to be the engines of growth to generate high growth rates including oil and gas, electronic and electrical, Tourism, Agriculture and Financial Services
The NEM recommendations were drawn up by the nine-man National Economic Advisory Council, which is headed by former Maybank chief and ex-minister Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz.
Other members of the council include:
*London School of Economics head of department Dr Danny Quah,
*Finance expert Dr Yukon Huang
*World Bank’s East Asia chief economist Dr Homi J. Kharas.
*Datuk Dr Zainal Aznam Yusof, a distinguished fellow of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin and Datuk Dr Hamzah Kassim.
*China Bank Regulatory Commission chief adviser Datuk Andrew Sheng
*Universiti Sains Malaysia vice-chancellor Professor Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak.
*The sole corporate representative is Datuk Nicholas S. Zefferys, the past president of the American-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce.
All the members are distinguished experts in Economy and Finance,as well as Management. Bravo!, I hope they can live long enough to see these missions carried out.
