KUALA
LUMPUR - Malaysia should rid itself of
bureaucracy and handouts in the wake of integrating in the Asean Economic
Community (AEC).
Those
were Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s main concerns, expressed during an interview
with Malay Mail.
He
compared Malaysia’s unique prowess in industrialisation to the entire Asean
region’s dependency on cheap labour, but pointed out that Malaysia had to
rethink some of its policies.
When
asked by Malay Mail what economic policies should be prioritised in view of the
AEC, “less bureaucracy, a relook at agriculture and stopping brain drain” were
most salient in his view. He also hinted at handouts as an economic negation.
In his
opinion, Malaysians should not depend on handouts, stating that he did not
“believe in giving people money” while lambasting the impact of “bureaucracy
which is terrible and can cause delays”.
“I do
not believe in giving people money. Malaysians can survive, because they are
talented. Instead of giving out money which does not contribute to the economy,
they should be trained in specific fields,” Dr Mahathir emphasised.
These
are things that should be corrected in Malaysia for the country to go even
further in its drive to beat the competition.
According
to Dr Mahathir, Malaysia was ahead in terms of industrialisation, which is
recognised for its superior capabilities compared with the entire region.
Singapore
has entrenched itself in developing a high-end information technology industry,
due to its geographical location, but Malaysia has moved far ahead from bigger
countries in Asean.
From
January to April this year, Malaysia’s industrial production index expanded 4.6
per cent compared with the same period in the previous year.
The
expansion was contributed by the increase in all indices, with manufacturing
posting 6.2 per cent, mining 0.7 per cent and power 4.2 per cent.
Projects
approved by major industry sectors in Malaysia from January to March are
chemical and chemical products (RM6.6 billion), electronics and electrical
products (RM4.4 billion), basic metal products (RM2 billion), food
manufacturing (RM738 million), transport equipment (RM705 million), rubber
products (RM553 million) and petroleum products (including petrochemicals)
(RM455 million), showing the importance of the industrial sector in the
country’s economy.
Malaysia’s
edge in the competition with Asean was the move from labour-intensive
industries to sophisticated high precision industrial output, Dr Mahathir said.
“We are
industrialised, the ‘young tigers’ are dependent on cheap labour and on simple
assembly processes. They do not do design, R&D,” was his analogy of Vietnam
and Cambodia’s rise as the young economic tigers in the region.
Drawing
the parallel with Malaysia’s entry into high-tech industries, Dr Mahathir was
of the view that the country had graduated to high quality products, higher
grade technology “for Malaysians to earn higher income”.
On the
brain drain, Dr Mahathir’s perspective was that despite the damage control
exercised by the government, Malaysia was “still being robbed of its expertise,
with highly skilled workers in specific areas of the industrial sector seeking
higher salaries abroad”.
He was
not talking of the basic industrial workforce, but of Malaysians of high grade
expertise attracted to the prospects of better paid jobs in other countries.
“We
should stop losing expertise to Asean and other countries,” he said.
He also
spoke of other worries, including the current government’s tendency to seek
popularity in implementing popular measures.
One of
these policies was to grant the wishes of the people to have cheap, quality
products which, in turn, put pressure on the authorities to boost imports.
As a
substitute to massive imports, the authorities should throw in stimulants to
encourage local production, which would provide employment to locals.
He said
to achieve this, proper training should be provided as well as policies
implemented to get industries to implant themselves in Malaysia and not just
investment in buildings, but developmental complexes that brought expertise.
Dr
Mahathir disagreed with policies that allowed foreign investment in the housing
sector, which did not bring any benefit to the country though money was flowing
in freely.
He
suggested that Malaysia enhance its local industries, bringing them to higher
levels.
“Some
people may say that I am trying to bring back my old policies, but these are
still relevant and would bring jobs to our experts,” he said.
Dr
Mahathir advised that Malaysia must be careful not to lose jobs or investment
opportunities because of a lack of investors in the high-tech sector.
However,
he insisted that Malaysia should look again at its agricultural policies.
“Even
though we moved on from agriculture, we must realise that this is a very
important industry that can help boost the local supply chain,” he said.
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