Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who sat in a panel discussion on "Economic Malaise and its Perils" hosted by Al Jazeera's English network here yesterday, said the key to Malaysia's economic transformation was to get out of the middle-income trap.
He said coming out of the crippling 1997 Asian meltdown, Malaysia realised that while its economy was growing, it was growing slowly.
"We decided to put the private sector in the forefront of economic development and saw a sharp increase in private investment and in the process created more than 300,000 new jobs in a short space of three years."
The discussion started by examining problems faced by Europe and also the managed slowdown in China, and how these developments were affecting the job market.
The panellists agreed that creating big companies alone were not enough. The challenge, they said, was creating a society that is ready to meet every need that came with development.
Najib said Malaysia had for many years inculcated the "can do" spirit among its people through the "Malaysia Boleh" slogan.
"The slogan has generated plenty of optimism among Malaysians."
He said during the 1997 crisis, Malaysia decided that it could continue to grow without paying the political and social costs as would have been required had it subscribed to cures prescribed then by the International Monetary Fund.
"We realised that we could get out of the crisis by continuing to adopt a pro-growth and investor-friendly policy and we objected vehemently to the IMF's prescriptions."
Malaysia's moves, which went against the IMF's suggestions, were praised by the international market several years later.
Other panellists in the discussion hosted by Al Jazeera English's Kamahl Santamaria were Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson; director-general of the International Labour Organisation Guy Ryder; Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Financial Affairs Ali Babacan; China's Head of Department of Finance Li Daokui, and SAP Germany's co-chief executive Jim Haggemann Snabe.
Generally, the panellists agreed that it was imperative for policymakers to plan for the development of the society instead of focusing solely on creating industries.
Olafur said the country rose from rock bottom just a few years ago to a sustainable growth path by putting its people first.
"There is just too much emphasis on the financial institutions in Europe. Instead, we let the banks fail, established currency controls and put our people in the forefront instead."
Li said technology has also changed the landscape of the world economy, enabling even those in the lower rungs of society to participate in the economy.
The smartphone and other electronic gadgets has enabled any private individual to establish his own business and, in the process, create jobs.
Najib said governments must, however, provide a sound education system.
"In Malaysia, the revamp of our education system is an on-going process because we realise that our education system usually lags behind industrial developments."
Putting his points across from the floor, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said innovation was also vital in promoting a knowledgeable society that constantly searched for new ways of doing things.
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| Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak with SAP AG Germany co-chief executive officer, Denmark Snabe Jim Hagemann Snabe during Aljazeera’s televised session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2013. Bernama pic |
(Source: http://www.nst.com.my)
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