Archive for category Economics
MCA’s harakiri and its repercussions on the Chinese
MCA is an ineffective political force in part because it has long played only a marginal role in the previous Malaysia Plans — implemented by the Umno-aligned, Malay dominated civil service — that have shaped socio-economic development in the country.
The Malaysian public, especially the Chinese, must be wondering if MCA can ever get its house in order so that it can attend to the important affairs of state, especially the economy.
Besides the economy which affects the wellbeing of all households in one way or another, there are many other issues that should occupy the time and attention of the party.
Rising religious tensions; increasing intolerance of Islamic zealots; growth of rightwing Malay NGOs and extremism; lack of education opportunities for young Chinese and other Malaysians – the list is formidable. Many of these issues have implications not only for the Chinese but for the whole country.
The Najib administration’s New Economic Model (NEM) is being touted as the way forward. Do the MCA leaders know or even care what is in the model?
Read the rest of this entry »
Has Najib’s New Economic Model been hijacked by Neo-NEP Umnoputras like Perkasa forcing another delay in its announcement?
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The assurance by the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that no Malaysian would be sidelined in the New Economic Model (NEM) is not convincing when from all indications, the NEM has been hijacked by Neo-NEP Umnoputras like Perkasa, forcing another delay in its announcement.
When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister last April, he announced that the government would introduce a new economic model for the country to ensure that Malaysia makes a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country through greater emphasis on innovation, creativity and competitiveness.
In May last year, the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the new economic model would be announced in the second half of the year.
Time is clearly of the critical essence to launch a new economic model as Husni subsequently admitted in a very frank speech in December that the country had lost a decade in economic stagnation.
In actual fact, Malaysia had lost not only one decade in economic stagnation but four decades in failing to fully realize the economic potential of the rich natural and human resources of the country, resulting in Malaysia losing out not only to other countries including Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea but at risk of being overtaken by an increasing list of other countries like Vietnam, Thailand and even Indonesia.
Read the rest of this entry »
What is Najib’s response to the PERC’s “blistering” report and the prospect of Malaysia becoming even more uncompetitive internationally because of his failing strategy to be “all things to all people”
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Yesterday, I criticised the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for coming up with a wishy-washy “1Malaysia” concept, which has come to mean “a thousand and one” different things even to Umno and Barisan Ministers and leaders – resulting in his lament that “I am greatly saddened that such an idea, which is not terribly complicated, is so often not understood.”
This criticism has found support in the latest report of the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) on Malaysia which is quite pessimistic about the Najib strategy of “trying to be all things to all people, but in the end he might satisfy no one”.
In what Malaysian Insider has described as a “blistering report” on Malaysia at the end of January, PERC raised Malaysia’s risk index from 5.24 in December to 5.4 in January – out of a possible maximum score 10 for highest level of risk.
PERC maintained in its report that foreign investments into Malaysia have not been forthcoming, either in direct form or in the equity markets.
It said: “Foreign companies and investors are remaining cautious until they see how Malaysia gets its own house in order.”
Read the rest of this entry »
How can Najib inspire confidence in Malaysia 2.0 new economic model when he has done nothing in past ten months to stop brain drain or achieve brain gain
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Sunday, 7 February 2010
When he became Prime Minister in early April last year, one of the first things Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced was a new economic model for the country to ensure Malaysia make a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country.
At first, this new economic model of Malaysia 2.0 was to be announced by the second half of last year, then delayed to January of the new year and now to the first quarter of the year.
In actual fact, the World Bank had recommended that Malaysia adopt a new economic model three years ago, stressing that industrial countries are already aiming for economic model 3.0, and with competition at economic model 1.0 intensifying, striving to achieve economic model 2.0 is not an option for Malaysia but a necessity.
The question is why the World Bank’s advice that Malaysia migrate to a new economic model 2.0 was ignored for three years, losing more precious time for Malaysia to catch up in the international competitiveness race when the country had become a straggler as compared to other countries.
When the country achieved nationhood in 1957, Malaysia was the second most economically-advanced country in Asia after Japan.
Read the rest of this entry »
Twitter exchange – Anwar’s Sodomy 2 and NEM
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Economics, Najib Razak, Twitter on Saturday, 6 February 2010
02/06/2010 06:54 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar Journos owned by politicians shld not talk high and mighty about “NEM is 2 impt to leave 2 politics n politicians”.
02/06/2010 06:49 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar “NEM is 2impt to leave 2 politics n politicians” – Najib n MCA Ministers not “politicians”? Star owned by MCA – so? Warped logic
02/06/2010 06:46 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar “I agree with u tht sodomy 2 ws a fixed up but …” who said this? Backing off so quickly? Deny when cornered?
02/06/2010 06:38 PM
saiwanstar: @limkitsiang Don’t recall ever saying who fixed sodomy 2 did I? :) no bullseye uncle lim. NEM is 2 impt to leave 2 politics n politicians.
02/06/2010 06:21 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar Y classic mca kneejerk allegation dap will sabo d country’s economy? U have sole claim 2patriotism? U owe public apology
Read the rest of this entry »
Stop Anwar Sodomy2 trial if Najib is serious about Malaysia 2.0 new economic model …
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Economics, Najib Razak on Saturday, 6 February 2010
In his 2010 New Year Message issued on 31st December 2009, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak forecast that Malaysia will emerge stronger in 2010 with the long-term as well as short and medium-term initiatives taken by the Government.
However, Malaysia has becoming weaker instead of stronger whether in terms of national unity or in international competitiveness since the first day of the new year.
The first month of the new year was marred by irresponsible mischief to create inter-religious discord over the Dec. 31 judgment of the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan lifting the 2007 Home Ministry ban on the Catholic Church weekly Herald and allowing the use of the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia version – with a spate of desecration of churches, mosques, surau and Sikh Gurdwara.
As a result, Malaysia’s international image and standing suffered unprecedented battering in the first month of the year, aggravating Malaysia’s crisis of confidence, undermining Malaysia’s international competitiveness and tarnishing Malaysia as a safe and secure haven for FDIs and as an ideal location for tourists and students.
Read the rest of this entry »
PM Najib must institute good governance before the country can achieve high income economy
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Dr. Chen Man Hin, Economics, Najib Razak on Friday, 29 January 2010
by Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser
PM NAJIB MUST INSTITUTE GOOD GOVERNANCE BEFORE THE COUNTRY CAN ACHIEVE HIGH ECONOMY FOR THE PEOPLE.
Dr. Zakaria, executive director of MIER at an economic conference on 26th January, stated that for Malaysia to become a high income country, it must liberalise the economy to attract both foreign direct investments as well as domestic investments. This is a hopeful statement, from a dedicated public servant, who wants to see his country prosper.
Unfortunately, he is going to be disappointed, not for lack of trying, but because the political and economic realities do not encourage both foreign and domestic investors to put money in this country.
Widespread corruption, racial prejudices and over regulation of the economy are unfriendly and deter investors to invest. Under an unstable cloud, the investors will not deem the climate here favourable to investors. In fact, this has led to a huge outflow of capital from the country.
DISASTROUS CAPITAL FLIGHT
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should set a two-week deadline to resolve the “Allah” controversy to salvage his 1Malaysia slogan and to defuse the latest factor driving away Malaysian talents and FDIs
Posted by Kit in Economics, Law & Order, Najib Razak, nation building, Religion on Monday, 25 January 2010
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should set a two-week deadline to resolve the “Allah” controversy to salvage his 1Malaysia slogan and to defuse the latest factor driving away Malaysian talents and FDIs.
The Police are to be commended for their quick arrests in connection with four arson attacks on churches and suraus and Malaysians hope that the police can expeditiously resolve all the 15 cases of arson and vandalism against places of worship in the first three weeks of the year since the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment on the “Allah” controversy on Dec. 31 last year.
Right from the beginning, this controversy had been mishandled by the authorities, in particular the political leadership, who have failed to fully realize the negative impact and far-reaching consequences of the issue to the country.
The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, for instance, should stop play politics on the issue and not allow his political role as Umno leader to wrongly influence his professional judgment and other aspects of his duties as Home Minister.
For instance, Hishammuddin said in Kuala Terengganu on Friday that the arson attacks on churches and suraus in the country could be attempts to undermine the 1Malaysia vision.
Read the rest of this entry »
There can be no successful new economic model for Malaysia without a credible and meaningful new governance model
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Over the weekend, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the government would announce the new economic model for the country within a month.
When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became the sixth Prime Minister in April last year, he announced that the government would introduce a new economic model for the country to ensure that Malaysia makes a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country through greater emphasis on innovation, creativity and competitiveness.
In May last year, the Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the new economic model would be announced in the second half of the year.
Why has this timeline for the new economic model been postponed until this year when according to Husni’s own admission, the country has already lost a decade in economic stagnation?
Read the rest of this entry »
The DAP Ipoh Resolution
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Crime, DAP, Economics, Education, environment, Finance, Good Governance, nation building on Monday, 18 January 2010
The DAP Ipoh Resolution:
MUAFAKAT TRANSFORMASI MALAYSIA
(adopted by the DAP National Conference 2010 in Ipoh on Sunday, 17th January 2010)
PREAMBLE
-
That the nation is waiting for a profound change is beyond doubt and that it is now a fact that the government-of-the-day is incapable of changing the intolerably arbitrary, self-serving, unjust, cruel and corrupt system of governance;
-
That the world does not stand still to wait for Malaysia, and we risk watching Asia changing and its economy growing not as an active participant but as bystander if we do not catch up fast;
-
That to save Malaysian governance from further deterioration, the economy from further plunder, and the people from further injustices is a shared imperative;
-
That the Democratic Action Party (DAP) therefore, in partnership with other Pakatan Rakyat parties and in cooperation with civil society, is determined to transform Malaysia through a new muafakat (consensus)
- by reversing distortions and corruptions of the Constitution, the rule of law and the system of governance,
- by restoring mutual respect amongst Malaysia’s multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious peoples,
- by renewing trust in public institutions and in the security services,
- by rejuvenating the economy
- by conserving the environment,
- by revamping the education system, and
- by re-establishing hope in our future as a nation;
Najib should report to Parliament on March 15 on the outcome of the K-Economy Master Plan 2001-2010
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Sunday, 17 January 2010
Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday that the government would announce the new economic model for the country within a month.
One of the first announcements made by Datuk Seri Najib Razak when he became the sixth Prime Minister was that a new economic model for Malaysia would be introduced to ensure that Malaysia make a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country.
Najib said the new economic model would provide more emphasis on innovation and creativity to help workers increase their income. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Disastrous Capital Flight
Asia Sentinel
by Our Correspondent
11 JANUARY 2010
Money leaves the country on an unprecedented scale
Churches are not the only thing to have been going up in flames in Malaysia. Take a look at the nation’s foreign exchange reserves. They fell by close to 25 percent during 2009 according to investment bank UBS even though the country continued to run a huge surplus on the current account of its balance of payments.
Says UBS: “Question: which Asian country had the biggest FX losses in 2009?” The answer is Malaysia and by a very large margin; we estimate that official reserves fell by well more than one quarter on a valuation-adjusted basis”. It describes the situation as “bizarre” and contrasts Malaysia with other countries with large current account surpluses – Thailand, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong – which have seen their reserves increase – as should be expected.
In short there has been an exodus of money from Malaysia on a scale which surpasses that which occurred during the Asian crisis. Nor is this just a mirage. The decline is also reflected in a sudden decline in base money supply – even while, thanks to Bank Negara, broader M2 has continued to grow modestly. Read the rest of this entry »
PM must lay the foundations to achieve his new year promises
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Economics on Sunday, 3 January 2010
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser
PM Najib’s new year promises cannot succeed without first laying the foundations of real reforms.
In his new year message, the Prime Minister announced for the new year 2010, his government would achieve a high income economy for the people with the help of a NEW ECONOMIC MODEL AND BUILDING A RESERVOIR OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED PEOPLE TO MOVE AND MAN THE NEW ECONOMY.
These are stirring words, but the promises will remain a dream, because the Prime Minister has not laid the proper foundations for a New Economy.
The first step he should take is to LIBERALISE THE ECONOMY in the manner that China and the Four Asian Tigers have liberalised – which is a Free Market economy. A free market means there will be no regulations to hinder investors to come to Malaysia or stifle the ambitions of local businessmen.
Read the rest of this entry »
The signs fore tell that Malaysia will be left behind during the rising of Asia
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Economics on Monday, 14 December 2009
(Speech by Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser to members of the Hakka Association of Negri Sembilan in Seremban on 13th December 2009)
I am most honoured to be invited to attend the formation of the Negri Sembilan Hakka Association, which will include all the hakka clans to form a single body.
Hakkas originated from Kwang Chow and Fukkien provinces, and are comprised of several clans, Moi Kong, Fui Choo, Char Yong, Hoi Look Foong
Although mandarin is the common language, there are different dialects among the chinese in Malaysia.
| Dialect | Population |
|---|---|
| Hokkien | 1,848,211 |
| Hakka | 1,679,027 |
| Cantonese | 1,355,541 |
| Teochew | 974,573 |
| Mandarin | 958,467 |
| Hainanese | 380,781 |
| Min Bei | 373,337 |
| Foochow | 249,413 |
| Total | 7,819,350 |
Malaysia an ‘oil cursed’ country
Posted by Kit in Economics, nation building, Razaleigh Hamzah on Saturday, 12 December 2009
by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Dec 12, 09
(Speech by former finance minister and Umno vice-president Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah at the one-day Young Corporate Malaysians Summit this morning)
In a speech I made in April this year, I spoke of where we stand in our developmental path and what I felt we must do to move forward.
I need to revisit that argument in order to develop it further.
We are stagnating. The signs of a low-growth economy are all around us. Wages are stagnant and the cost of living is rising.
We have not made much progress in becoming a knowledge and services based economy.
According to the World Bank, Malaysia’s share of GDP contributed by services was 46.2 percent in 1987. Ten years later, that share had grown by a mere 0.2 percent.
Between 1994 and 2007, real wages grew by 2.6 percent in the domestic sector and by 2.8 percent in the export sector, which is to say, they were flat over that 13-year period.
Meanwhile, our talent scenario is an example of perverse selection at its most ruinous. We are failing to retain our own young talent, people like yourselves, let alone attract international talent to relocate here, while we have had a massive influx of unskilled foreign labour. They now make up 30 to 40 percent of our workforce.
Alone in East Asia, the number of expatriate professionals here has decreased. Alone in East Asia, private sector wage increases follow government sector increases, instead of the other way around. We are losing doctors and scientists and have become Southeast Asia’s haven for low-cost labour.
I said that we are in a middle-income trap, stuck in the pattern of easy growth from low-value-added manufacturing and component assembly and unable to make the leap to a knowledge-intensive economy. Read the rest of this entry »
Can Malaysia rise from the lost “decade of stagnation”?
Second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah’s speech at Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) National Economic Outlook Conference 2010-2011 on Tuesday that Malaysia has lost ground to neighbours such as Indonesia in the race for foreign investment and the imperative need to rebuild confidence by building the highest standards of governance did not say anything new as they have been repeatedly raised by DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders inside and outside Parliament.
It is nonetheless unusually refreshing as it is the first admission by a top government leader of a lost decade of “stagnation” after the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
Just like the pledge by the former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to declare war on corruption when he came into office in six years ago and the pledge by the present Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak just eight months ago to lead a government committed to the concept of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” but which have not followed by action and the political will to “walk the talk”, will Husni’s remarkably frank speech end up as the latest addition to a mountainous pile of high-sounding speeches of government leaders never translated into deed and policy?
Read the rest of this entry »
Our failed migrant labour policy
By Tunku Aziz
Corruption and gross inefficiency make for a lethal concoction. In Malaysia everything that goes wrong is traceable to either one or both of these factors, and we Malaysians do not have far to cast our eye to see examples of enforcement that have gone awry.
Everywhere we go in Malaysia, in urban centres as well as remote rural hamlets, we see foreigners in our midst toiling away day and night at jobs that Malaysians won’t touch with a long barge pole.
It is clear that these people, the overwhelming majority are illegal, are performing a useful economic function, and it is equally obvious that we cannot do without them, such is their penetration into virtually every aspect of Malaysian life. Why, then, don’t we look the problem in the face and do something right by both the country and these illegals who are here for the long haul?
Read the rest of this entry »
DAP: No sense gaining RM1b from GST to lose RM28b to graft
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics on Monday, 30 November 2009
By Clara Chooi | The Malaysian Insider
IPOH, Nov 29 – DAP has urged the Federal Government to reconsider the proposed 4 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST), claiming it would do nothing to narrow the nation’s current deficit budget and would only further burden the poor and the middle class.
Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that the Government should, instead, concentrate on fighting corruption and realising savings of at least RM28bil annually instead of a mere RM1bil in additional revenue from GST.
“This RM28bil was admitted by Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah as the cost of leakages from having closed tenders in government procurement or just failing to have open tenders for government contracts in an open manner.
“If the government focuses on changing this, there is no need to impose GST on the people to raise funds.
Read the rest of this entry »
Lack of transparency in RM628 million Matrade expo centre deal for 65 acres of prime land in KL for Naza TTDI with GDV of RM15 billion could further plunge Malaysia’s competitiveness and corruption perception rankings next year
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, Parliament on Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Just spoke in Parliament on the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. I started by asking Parliament and government to give serious thought to a Malaysian Insider report today, and in particular its catchy headline “Malaysia’s next export: Maids?”
The Malaysian Insider report states:
The nation’s mismanagement of talent could have serious repercussions not only on its ambitions to become a high income economy on par with that of developed nations but could also lead it to fall further behind even its counterparts in the region. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia can help Asia lead the recovery of the world economy if it has a fully liberalised economy like China
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Monday, 16 November 2009
Media Statement by Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser in Seremban on 15th November 2009
WILL MALAYSIA PLAY A ROLE IN WHAT THE PUNDITS CALL ‘ASIA WILL LEAD THE RECOVERY OF THE WORLD ECONOMY’
It is becoming evident that while the economies in the West are trying very hard to revive their economies, and while America is still bogged down by failures of its banks – both big and small – China and India are having record GDP growths, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam.
This has prompted many economists to propose the trend that it is Asia that will show the way for recovery of not just the Asian economy but also the WORLD economy.
This conclusion was further emphasised only two days ago, at the GLOBAL LEADERS SERIES talk organised by the American Chambers of Commerce in Singapore, it was postulated that Asia will lead the recovery of the world, from recession.
Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Economics category.
