Transformation is the overriding theme of Government policy in Malaysia, where the administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak knows there is much to be done if the small Southeast Asian country is to become a high-income developed nation by 2020.
A series of national plans over the last 40 years has seen Malaysia progress from dependence on exporting rubber and tin to modern industrial production, services and tourism. In the last decade the focus has changed again and is now firmly on creating a knowledge-based economy.
Malaysia successfully weathered the recent international firestorm, but faces deeper challenges. As the global economic landscape changes with the emergence of China, India, the Middle East and rival Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia also needs to change in order to remain competitive.
“TRANSFORMATION IS ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF MALAYSIA’S ADMINISTRATION AND I FOR ONE KNOW ALL TOO WELL THE DIFFICULTIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS” DATO’ SRI MOHD NAJIB BIN TUN
Abdul Razak Prime Minister of Malaysia |
“Transformation is one of the hallmarks of Malaysia’s administration, and I for one know all too well the difficulties associated with the transformation process,” said Mr Najib recently. “But it is not transformation that we must be worried about, it is complacency.”
Last year saw the launch of the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015). In addition, since taking over two years ago, Mr Najib has launched 1Malaysia, the New Economic Model (NEM), the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) and the Government Transformation Plan (GTP). All, he says, are in some ways a continuation of a winning formula, but in other ways they represent a radical departure from the past.
“What is different this time around is the widespread public consultation, the emphasis on transparency and meritocracy, and the clear roadmaps and benchmarks for the outcomes on which we will be judged,” he says.
Each of the plans is intended to address a different aspect of what Malaysia needs to do to take its place among the world’s high-income nations: enhancing the delivery of Government services, removing barriers to investment, catalysing change and initiating a series of high-value, high-impact projects. But it is the emphasis on delivery and on key performance indicators to ensure transparency and accountability that suggests a different way of doing things and a determination to get results. Importantly, and for the first time in Malaysia, ministers are being held personally accountable for making the changes required to improve the quality of life of the people of Malaysia.
Results are important if Malaysia is to fulfil its dream. Independent analysts say that effective implementation of productivity-boosting structural reforms is crucial to achieving the level of growth needed to hit the 2020 target.
he Prime Minister stresses in particular the importance of 1Malaysia, which is designed to reinforce national unity in the country’s 27 million strong, ethnically diverse population. He says it is about fairness and equality and getting everyone behind the country’s transformation. But it is also about clear-headed, performance-based management. “1Malaysia is about furthering national unity and social justice,” he says, “but I make no apologies for saying that it is also about leveraging our economic strength.”
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