Malaysia’s Development Strategy Revisited (5)
by Dr. Mohamed Ariff*
A New Pro-Poor Economic Policy and Reform
There is certainly a need for a clear focus on the needs of the poor and marginalized regardless of race, colour or religion. In other words, Malaysia needs a ‘new’ New Economic Policy that is explicitly pro-poor. The main beneficiary of such a policy would still be Malay households, as they account for roughly three-quarters of the bottom 40 per cent of households in terms of income distribution.
Without a doubt, Malaysia is one of the better-performing economies in the region, with fairly strong macroeconomic fundamentals. The medium and long-term prospects of the economy are bright. Its inherent strengths clearly outweigh its perceived weaknesses, which are by no means insurmountable. Malaysia has only itself to blame for being stuck in the middle-income category for so long, and high-income status is within striking distance if policy makers have the courage to recognize and rectify policy errors. But there should be no delusion that a high income is all it takes to become a developed country; Malaysia has a long way to go to climb up the human development ladder as well.
The Malays are Competitive and Competent
It would be incorrect to give the impression that there is very little political space for serious reform in Malaysia. Fortunately, times have changed. Malays are just as competitive and competent as anyone else, and it would be an insult to Malay intelligence and an affront to the Malay psyche to say otherwise. What is more, thanks to increasingly easier access to information through the internet, the mindset of Malay voters is changing, as is that of their compatriots in other ethnic groups. The constituency for reform is growing – a development that no political party can afford to ignore in a democracy.
Understandably, there has not been much academic discussion or intellectual discourse – let alone public debate – on the issues confronting Malaysia given the ‘sensitive’ nature of the topics. Books discussing such issues candidly and objectively are either dated or in short supply. The present volume, containing solid contributions by eminent writers on related themes, should help fill the vacuum with balanced arguments.
What distinguishes this book from other works on the Malaysian economy is the forthright manner in which the various issues are discussed. The insights and views of the writers cover a wide spectrum of issues, including political challenges, corporate ownership and control, governance, crisis management, macroeconomic and microeconomic policies, service sector reforms, technological upgrading, distributive justice and demographic change. Together, they represent a major contribution towards better understanding of an increasingly complex Malaysian economy.
*Dr. Mohamed Ariff is Professor Emeritus, University of Malaya and Distinguished Fellow, Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, Kuala Lumpur
Preface for the forthcoming book by Hal Hill, Tham Siew-Yean and Ragayah Haji Mat Zin (Editors), GRADUATING FROM THE MIDDLE: MALAYSIAN DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES, Routledge, United Kingd
#1 by Bigjoe on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 12:26 pm
Didn’t you hear what Najib said? Building the Merdeka Warisan towers will have multiplier effects that will help the poor bumis. Sorry – the poor indonesians and bangladeshi.
#2 by Loh on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 12:26 pm
///There is certainly a need for a clear focus on the needs of the poor and marginalized regardless of race, colour or religion. In other words, Malaysia needs a ‘new’ New Economic Policy that is explicitly pro-poor. The main beneficiary of such a policy would still be Malay households, as they account for roughly three-quarters of the bottom 40 per cent of households in terms of income distribution.///DMA
NEP started to explain why May 13 happened and to hide the coup d’etat. Later NEP was the gem of UMNO. How else can UMNO gain support and get away with blatant corruption? To UMNO, economic policies is good only if it translate into vote bank. UMNO has never required non-Malay votes.
///Malays are just as competitive and competent as anyone else, and it would be an insult to Malay intelligence and an affront to the Malay psyche to say otherwise.///– DMA
Mamakthir still argues that he was not ashamed to be not as good as Chinese. It would appear that even pork sellers are better than him.
Well, if Malays do not behave like what Mamakthir wrote in his book ‘Malay Dilemma’, then how can NEP be reasonable?
The real Malay Dilemma is that they have included those who should not be Malay as Malays. Had the Constitution been specific with regard to the target beneficiaries, rather than created a new ‘Malay’ race, there would be no May 13; race could not be manipulated.
#3 by Loh on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 12:27 pm
They are potential NEWMalays.
#4 by Bigjoe on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 1:00 pm
Loh: ” They are potentially NewMalays”
That means we are JUST LIKE SINGAPORE!! – world class lah..
#5 by dagen on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 1:14 pm
Malays are competitive and competent? That honestly is something I have yet to see. Be that as it may, I would not be surprised if they actually are competitive and competent. It is just that under umno they were suppressed and are never encouraged to be competitive or competent. Instead, they were told to take money directly from the pockets of chinese. Fortunately a growing number of malays are now feeling ashame of umno’s policies. Like the rest of us they too wanted the satisfaction of success.
#6 by undertaker888 on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 2:05 pm
the only way for malays to be competent is by getting rid of bn. they are a stumbling block to malay’s progress.
look at cintanegara, he is quite jovial huddling the rambutan tree. that’s all he needs to do everyday. one day the might of the bulldozer will level him together with his rambutan tree.
#7 by TheWrathOfGrapes on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 2:10 pm
Wonder who NAJIB is trying to fool? Multiplier effect – what multiplier effect. Let’s see:
The consultants are likely to be foreigners
The architects engineers, QS, etc are likely to be foreigners
The bulk of the construction workers are likely to be foreigner
The building materials, except cement, are likely to be imported (and guess what, who owns the cement plant?)
The proponents (with their tens and hundreds of millions in commissions) are likely to park their money outside Malaysia.
So, what multiplier effect are we talking about?
Yes, the construction workers will be eating their nasi lemak and drink their kopi-O here. More like a divisional (as in division/multiplication) effect.
#8 by Bigjoe on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 2:16 pm
There are many Malays who genuinely want reform but believe that the best way is to reform UMNO without losing power. The truth is that scenario is hopeless – its just not realistic in any way. Many political parties all over the world and in history has tried internal reform and few have suceeded. Look at the Republican Party in the US which really is already a failed party and yet is unable to reform.
So there is no choice really but PR to replace BN for reformist. Its not a perfect solution and in fact has a lot of problems but for Malaysia, a well-endowed country like ours, a reasonable good solution is good enough. Its gets us what we all need and even most of what we want. Other fights can be had for another day. We are lucky that way.
So for reformist, they can forget all the going on in UMNO/BN. The worry really is opposition particularly PKR, Hindraf etc. which is falling apart – that is the bigger worry. The truth is Najib is bold because he sense that opposition is falling apart and if he strikes quickly, he can get away with a victory that his party will stand behind him and hold on to power.
Nope, the concern should not be what UMNO/BN is doing, the problems of the opposition looms larger.
#9 by undertaker888 on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 2:21 pm
the multiplier effect najis is talking about is the cost of constructing the building will double every year. from 5billion to 50billion.
look at pkfz and the new palace. that’s the multiplier effect he is talking about.
#10 by democrate on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 2:48 pm
Recent umno party agm has nothing being new except keeping on saying and warning the non bumi to stop bringing up old issue of the malay rights and keep on threatening of applying seditious law to punish those query on the issue. Aya… actually the right has already being protected and constituted so why must they so worried and do they have better issues to debate on how they should apply their rights to bring up the economy of the country rather than forever to depend on the rights for survival ?
always believe to learn on how to go fishing rather than asking for fish forever.
#11 by democrate on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 2:53 pm
Umno warn the non bumi on malay rights query but Umno should at the same time warn their people too’ not to query on the loyalty of the non bumi cos they are born in malaysia and will also die on the same land.
#12 by cemerlang on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 4:20 pm
To be fair, there are many who are competitive and work hard. We cannot stereotype anyone. However special privileges still remain. So when there are special privileges, the competition will tend to be unfair. For a spoiled child, daddy and mommy will always be there to dish out whatever he wants.
#13 by yhsiew on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 8:24 pm
New pro-poor economic policy/reform is needed to improve the image of the Malaysian government.
Affirmative action/social engineering is normally applied to ethnic MINORITY. Apart from Malaysia, where else in the world can one find governments apply affirmative action/social engineering to ethnic MAJORITY? The NEP has created a bad image for Malaysia – the international community think that ethnic minority in Malaysia are being bullied or taken advantage of by their government through the NEP.
It is time to replace the NEP with new pro-poor economic policy/reform to improve the image of the Malaysian government.
#14 by Loh on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 8:34 pm
///Although enshrining concepts such as federalism and a constitutional monarchy, the proposed Malayan constitution by the Reid Commission also contained provisions protecting special rights for the Malays, such as quotas in admission to higher education and the civil service, and making Islam the official religion of the federation. It also made Malay the official language of the nation, although the right to vernacular education in Chinese and Tamil would be protected.
Although Tunku Abdul Rahman and the Malay rulers had asked the Reid Commission to ensure that “in an independent Malaya all nationals should be accorded equal rights, privileges and opportunities and there must not be discrimination on grounds of race and creed,” the Malay privileges, which many in the ruling United Malays National Organisation backed, were cited as necessary by the Reid Commission as a form of affirmative action that would eventually be phased out. These controversial measures were included as Articles 3, 152 and 153 of the Constitution.///–http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_Commission
The following sentence “the Malay privileges, which many in the ruling United Malays National Organisation backed, were cited as necessary by the Reid Commission as a form of affirmative action that would eventually be phased out.” confirms that the special position of Malays was not intended to be permanent.
The Constitution took into consideration the need to eventually phase out the article by including in it the provision for a review of Article 153. The review was supposed to take place 15 years after independence, in 1972.
It was Najib’s father who negated on the so-called social contract. He removed the provision for a review in Article 153 and added the need for approval by the conference of rulers for future amendment to that article. It should be noted however that Mamakthir was able to get the Rulers to sign away their rights. So much is the safeguard by the Rulers.
Razak chose to put the Rulers at loggerhead to the ruling government even when the later command 2/3 majority in the parliament. Can the Rulers stand up to that, knowing their past record in safeguarding their own rights. It is particular cunning of Razak to involve the Rulers in politics since no party can ever command two-third majority of the MPs without Malays’ support. If Malays chose to remove Article 153, how can the Rulers oppose them?
Well Najib now cannot tell Malays that the opposition could remove Article 153, even if they want to. It also means that the country cannot progress, if removing article 153 is the only means to ensure that Malays develop their full potentials to be competitive in the world as they aspire to achieve with the affirmative actions, if the Rulers chose to look good as protectors of Malays in the constitution rather than to do the right things for the progress of Malays.
#15 by tuahpekkong on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 10:52 pm
Privilege generally spawns complacency and indolence, not competitiveness and competency. Imagine if one can get into a University with mediocre results, why bother to work hard to achieve good results? If you can get into Government service or GLC with a general degree or a 3rd class honours degree, why bother to toil day and night to obtain 1st class or 2nd class upper honours degree? We are encouraging mediocrity, not pre-eminence.
#16 by waterfrontcoolie on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 11:37 pm
If we all sincerely look back over the past 30 years, we all can conclude what and who derail the fabrics of this nation. Umno was entrapped by what took place some 30 years ago and today they have fears of getting out of that entrapment. Of course the author of that entrapment will want to ensure they do not get out of the box to think differently. Self-preservation; otherwise sooner or later someone will ask some awkward questions which will expose the schemers of this entrapment! best thing ensure the next bloke presiding is the son!
#17 by passerby on Friday, 22 October 2010 - 11:56 pm
Malays are just as competent and NEP allow them to steal with ease. Do you think they want to abolish the NEP?
#18 by HJ Angus on Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 12:23 am
#15 hits the nail on the head but not all the Malays steal from NEP.
Those who exploit NEP are UMNO leaders and their BN cronies.
NEP has become the most toxic drug in Malaysia and only the voters can administer the cold turkey treatment.
#19 by passerby on Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 3:48 am
Sorry. I meant those in umno and not the poor ordinary Malays.
#20 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 5:49 am
#1 by Bigjoe on Friday, 22 October 2010 – 12:26 pm
Didn’t you hear what Najib said? Building the Merdeka Warisan towers will have multiplier effects that will help the poor bumis. Sorry – the poor indonesians and bangladeshi.
Thank you Dr Mohd Ariff for highlighting some of the mindless strategies of UMNOputras. Actually, their only strategies I see are those that line their pockets.
Foreign workers totaalling (guesstimate) of 2.5 million – has the government ever wondered how they are helping the bumis by bringing in so many to take over their cushy jobs?
Now Bangladeshi barbers, furniture salesmen.
Pakistani & Indian Muslim furniture showrooms mushroom all over towns, carpet showrooms.
Nepali-run Pasar Malam stalls.
Indonesian contractors.
Of course, UMNO is still protecting the nasi lemak stalls and handing carrots to Mat Rempits. Why, oh why, are our Muslim Malay brothers in such a penurious predicament?
Ask UMNO, MCA, MIC. They have always been more interested in the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka than these nasi-lemak sellers. How did the non-Malays “deprive” these Malay nasi-lemak sellers or “robbed” them? Who educated them? Who enabled the banglas, nepalis, indonesians, pakistanis, Indian muslims etc etc.?
Soon, Banglas and the Mamaks will also take over these stalls too. Then, what next UMNO?
#21 by Thor on Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 9:26 am
Melayu mudah lupa!
Melayu mudah di tipu!
That was during the mammak’s era.
Malays should be more wiser by now and not let those “fake” malays manipulate them anymore.
Our forefathers worked hard hand in hand to gain independence and built up this country with lots of sweat but along came one blardy idiot, who “pretended” to be malay and use some greedy malay to create havoc and disunity among us.
Our country are now under “siege” by these “intruders” who not only “rob” and spent lavishly but could even claimed that this country is “inherited” to them.
We need to unify ourselves now and continue on with our late Tungku Abdul Rahman’s struggle.
Malays are taught to be selfish and lazy under these s#ckers rule and that’s why you see lots of corruption and youngsters getting involved in illegal activities.
Umno Baru is just a disguise of the real Umno and it had opposed and swayed off from Tunku’s ideology and origin.
Let’s not be hoodwinked by them no more and let’s boot them out before Malaysia gets “booted” out.
Start by giving our votes to PR in Galas and Sapi by-elections, as to let them shiver first.
Then we “sapu” them out in the next GE!
For the sake of our future generation, let’s fear no more!
Think of Malaysia, think of Tunku Abdul Rahman and not Mahathir!!!
#22 by ktteokt on Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 5:42 pm
Can jellyfishes be competitive in the open ocean? Had it not because of their venomous stings, they would have been swallowed by predators!