Salam,
My statement on the economy.
AnwarMohd Shah '64
11 December 2006
Malaysia's Economy Has Lost Its DirectionMalaysia is currently at a crossroads: we can either move forward by focusing by building national competitiveness and addressing the widening gap between rich and poor; or we can remain without a clear direction by squabbling on racial quotas as the mediocrity, corruption and inequality reign.
While the recent UMNO Assembly talked about more governent intervention and regulation not so much to help the poor but the politically connected, countries which were lagging far behind a decade ago are swiftly and surely overtaking us, either now or in the near future. In the 1970s and 1980s our peers were Singapore, Taiwan and Korea – they are now far ahead of us. China and India have emerged as economic giants. We are now losing out to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.
The government has failed miserably in propelling our economy. To enjoy the economic growth we had from the 1970s to the 1990s, we need to attract foreign investment. In 1990, UNCTAD placed Malaysia fourth in the world in terms of attracting foreign direct investment; now we are 62nd. Even Indonesia has overtaken us in terms of foreign direct investment. Even our own private investment has crashed to a percentage less than it was in 1990. In spite of the recent excitement at Bursa Malaysia – Thailand, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan - which lagged behind a decade ago in terms of market capitalisation has overtaken us.
The current administration made battling corruption their main pledge in the last general elections. Yet no politial will has been shown to prosecute the major corruption cases, whilst the Prime Minister and former Prime Minister engage in a surreal battle on who has given more contracts to their children. No wonder we have fallen a further five places – from 39th to 44th – in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.
On the ground, 80,000 of our graduates are unemployed. The country is not moving sufficiently high up in the value chain as we continue to rely on foreign workers to keep wages low. But just as we cannot compete with the high-skill workforce of Korea, Taiwan or Singapore; neither can we hope to compete with the low wages of China, Vietnam or Indonesia. The public also has to cope with rising prices as inflation is projected to be the highest in seven years whilst wages have remained unchanged.
ANWAR IBRAHIM
taken from, MCOBA-MALAYSIA@yahoogroups.com
Whatdya reckon?
My statement on the economy.
AnwarMohd Shah '64
11 December 2006
Malaysia's Economy Has Lost Its DirectionMalaysia is currently at a crossroads: we can either move forward by focusing by building national competitiveness and addressing the widening gap between rich and poor; or we can remain without a clear direction by squabbling on racial quotas as the mediocrity, corruption and inequality reign.
While the recent UMNO Assembly talked about more governent intervention and regulation not so much to help the poor but the politically connected, countries which were lagging far behind a decade ago are swiftly and surely overtaking us, either now or in the near future. In the 1970s and 1980s our peers were Singapore, Taiwan and Korea – they are now far ahead of us. China and India have emerged as economic giants. We are now losing out to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.
The government has failed miserably in propelling our economy. To enjoy the economic growth we had from the 1970s to the 1990s, we need to attract foreign investment. In 1990, UNCTAD placed Malaysia fourth in the world in terms of attracting foreign direct investment; now we are 62nd. Even Indonesia has overtaken us in terms of foreign direct investment. Even our own private investment has crashed to a percentage less than it was in 1990. In spite of the recent excitement at Bursa Malaysia – Thailand, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan - which lagged behind a decade ago in terms of market capitalisation has overtaken us.
The current administration made battling corruption their main pledge in the last general elections. Yet no politial will has been shown to prosecute the major corruption cases, whilst the Prime Minister and former Prime Minister engage in a surreal battle on who has given more contracts to their children. No wonder we have fallen a further five places – from 39th to 44th – in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.
On the ground, 80,000 of our graduates are unemployed. The country is not moving sufficiently high up in the value chain as we continue to rely on foreign workers to keep wages low. But just as we cannot compete with the high-skill workforce of Korea, Taiwan or Singapore; neither can we hope to compete with the low wages of China, Vietnam or Indonesia. The public also has to cope with rising prices as inflation is projected to be the highest in seven years whilst wages have remained unchanged.
ANWAR IBRAHIM
taken from, MCOBA-MALAYSIA@yahoogroups.com
Whatdya reckon?
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