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.
Today, South Korea’s GDP per capita is US$16,450, Singapore US$34,346, Hong Kong US$29,559 while Malaysia is still at US$7,469 – with the disparity between Malaysia and these countries set to become wider in the coming years and even risking of being overtaken by countries like Thailand, Vietnam and even Indonesia!
It is pertinent to ask how Najib could inspire confidence in the Malaysia 2.0 new economic model when he has done nothing in the past ten years to stop the brain drain of Malaysia’s talents abroad or to achieve brain gain.
One of the specific proposals made by the World Bank three years ago for Malaysia to migrate to a new economic model Malaysia 2.0 was: “Engaging and attracting back talented, experienced, wealthy and well-connected members of Malaysian diaspora”.
If Najib is incapable of checking Malaysia’s braindrain which had led to the emigration of two generations of the best and brightest overseas as to create a two-million-strong Malaysian diaspora in the world, how can the Prime Minister succeed in achieving “brain gain” or to reverse “brain drain” from the Malaysian diaspora?
I still remember the ambitious “brain gain” programme of the Eighth Malaysia Plan ten years ago to “reverse brain drain” to transform Malaysia into a K-economy and Information Society through a two-pronged strategy, viz:
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An annual “brain gain” of 5,000 “extraordinary world citizens of extraordinary talent” to “lure the best brains regardless of race or nationality, from Bangalore to California”; and
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Encourage 500 skilled Malaysians overseas every year to return home with their expertise from 2001.
This ambitious “brain gain” programme was an unmitigated failure – with Malaysia losing even more talents in the past decade.
Malaysia is not short of proposals for a new economic model Malaysia 2.0 but what is sorely lacking is the political will to implement them.
How can Najib ensure that the new economic model of Malaysia 2.0 to be announced by him will not fail because of the lack of political will to carry out far-reaching government transformation programmes including restoring national and international confidence in the system of governance in Malaysia?
This is why Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy 2 trial is not a good harbinger for Najib’s Malaysia 2.0 new economic model.
Najib knows only how to talk and try to win votes.
He is a low class salesman..with a string of bad reputations.
Right now..cover ups upon cover ups on massive corruptions..by diverting our attentions to something else…like burning of churches…to see it works… FAILED!!
All PR eyes with spies in UMNO government…makes corruptions difficult.
UMNO government have no money.
When you have no money….how can you talk and deliver?
Where are all the money?
They are supposed to have hundreds of billions.
UMNO dare not say…government..no money…so the show must go on…to fool Malaysians.
UMNO is sooooo faarked up..we just need to be patient and relax and not allow Najib to use race and religion to upset the country…diverting out attentions to surviving…instead of planning to vote them out.
I put it to you again the link between Anwar and NEM while significant is not critical. I put it also that the heavy criticism of your link between the two issues lies in the fact Najib’s ideas are unoriginal and poor ones, includingn NEM, and is expected to fall short in the first place. It just touches a nerve of those who have worked hard and put stake behind the man and his ideas that what what the y are backing and working on are not that good in the first place and will only fall short further when the issues is debated more s comprehensively.
Again, Najib has credibility only with the lowest common denominator not with the biggest common denominator among Malaysians. The fools that support Najib will only fall harder when he takes them to the edge of the cliff and Anwar and his partners like yourself push them all over the cliff…
Frankly YB Lim Kit Siang ,how can you expect NR to inspire new economic model 2 and stop brain drain or achieve brain gain when he spent all his past ten months cleaning,clearing and hidding all the mess-up within Umno,MCA,MIC for exanples,the various scandals such as the Atan c4 case,the PKTZ,jet engines,TBH,the perak power grasp ,the cow head and the ALLAH case and the subsequent church fire bombing,mosques pig head and the latest the arrest under ISA of ten suspected terrorists. Currently his hands are full of shxts,surely it’s not appropriate for him to put his hands to shake with investors’s hands.
Ever since he became the Prime Minister, we have heard so many slogans, transform this and that, improve this and that. But it misses the whole point, to bring Malaysia forward we need changes in the mindset, only then the country can propel itself into the future, this is not possible under the BN regime. All BN does was to control the media and try to brainwash Malaysians into thinking everything is in the right places, and abusing the government machineries like the police and army, illegally controlling the independent of the judiciaries to put reformers under suppression. How can that be remedy for any successful economic model?
To the umno-nites, he had done something that AAB failed to do— stolen Perak from PR and is at the very moment undermining the state govts of Selangor and Penang. And the verge of putting Anwar back into the slammer for years, thanks to his protege Ah Sai Foo.
That is the real meaning of 1malaysia— the entire country under the rule of 1 party, umno
wck; i was sacked from Dap on the official charge of ‘not showing affection ‘ to the party leaders .
have you heard of any explanation given by Dap leaders , saying the allegation by zahrin and tan not true and we will come clean and show proof?
Kit
UMNO has never had their eyes on the ball. They were lucky to ride on the coattails of the world economy and Petronas. Well.. like all good things, it have to come to an end.
BN has been busy spending all those years raping the coffers of the nation. With one scandals after another breaking out like boils, Najib has been kept busy trying to contain them. Problem is BN has never been focus on nation development. More of how to rape the nation.
The chicken are finally coming home to roost.
BN MPs are now available at pollkad – http://bit.ly/pkmyface.
chenho,
WCK is vengeful and self-centered.
He is not a team player and he does not care a damn about Pakatan. All he cares is about how to hit out at DAP leaders and his personal interests.
I hope PKR will not give him a seat to contest in the next elections. Let his stand as an independent.
out of topic but needs to be addressed.
The UMNOputras are causing havoc in opposition run states therefore causing the foreign investors to keep at bay. If umnoputras can leave the states that they lost alone and let them govern in peace, we won’t be losing more foreign investors or even scare them away. Can UMNOputras to think with a brain for once, because as it is we have been stunted in terms of growth the last 20 years thanks to ongoing ludicrous insensible NEP’s which has caused more losses than gain? and to make matters worse those who underperformed exclsuively the bumi tender recipients are still assisted unrelentlessly and when the state government thinkgin of the greater cause puts it up for compettiton they start a riot? Grow up ler or else be prepared to be below vietnam. The days of malaysia’s wawasan 2020 will never materialise.
the freakin elections is 2 yrs away, this not the time to illegally grab back states that umno has lost in a fair and square game. Don;t act like a sore loser la, if u want to show a proper and reformed party, then show it in your governed states. Please be aware, many malaysians now are quite critical in their thinking, if you have lost 5 states the last elections, your actions till today will lead to the lost of all the states. so grow up and play the game fair and square, and stop the insensible accusations of dumb sexual claims on people. it may well work in an illiterate society but not ours.
When he sat on that Chair, he had to play some lip services!!! WOW! I have been hearing all “these” and “those” over 40 years!!! Nothing happened, then! Even it did happen; half-cooked/baked and eventually abandoned them without anybody cared. Let them rotten like shits,,,,
How, what, when, where, why and who they say/said…. They are not going to win my heart and vote! My vote reserved for PR all times. Please stop buying my vote as my vote is not for sale!!!
When he sat on that Chair, he had to play some lip services!!! WOW! I have been hearing all “these” and “those” over 40 years!!! Nothing happened, then! Even it did happen; half-cooked/baked and eventually abandoned them without anybody cared. Let them rotten like sh*ts,,,,
How, what, when, where, why and who they say/said…. They are not going to win my heart and vote! My vote reserved for PR all times. Please stop buying my vote as my vote is not for sale!!!
Anybody who thinks that UMNO has the sincerity to lure home the best brains must be having bat brains. UMNO is only staging a show all these while as UMNO is all the while fear of people with brains, and that is why they set back the education system to ensure a half past six education system. Their job is to ensure as many obtuse people as possible so that they can be easily confused and they believe what they say. Look at the demography of the election pattern. Most of UMNO seats won are from the rural area and lack of sound education which UMNO can fox them but not the urban areas where the people are more educated. In other words the premium constituency are mostly won by the PR. People with brains are to UMNO disadvantage as they are sorely lack of leaders with brain. Take for instance Syed Hamid Albar. In any first world country , he will be only fit to be an office boy, but in this bolehland he was a minister of in internal affairs, a critical and important portfolio where he messed up the ministry and became a sending a reporter to the Kamunting detention centre under ISA because she needs to be protected. Such skimpy brains can be a minister. Can you imagine what category of ministers they are having. The fact that they keep dropping the standard of education and keep on feeding “opium ” to the Malays and make them addicted so as to remain servile to UMNO. They are so skillful in feeding opiums that they had now devised a new conduit under PERKASA to do it because they want to win the non Malays vote by their empty slogan of 1Malaysia.All these are glaring testimony that they are scared of people with brains rather then welcoming home people with brains. So that is why the “Brain Gain” impetus never gain momentum and so long as UMNO is at the helm it will never work, because they simply do not want it to work.
If possible they will want to make all Malaysians more obtuse than them so that they can lead us by the noose.
pwcheng you have highlighted a very important point indeed, the rural areas where gullible people live are umno’s main prey, and the urban areas are where the educated one’s are in general have voted the opposition. It makes a lot of sense as to why umno keeps harping on racial and relgious issues because the one’s that actually get excited are the kampung folks.
Malaysia is DESTINED to be a donor of professionals, experts and specialists to other countries due to discriminatory policies and unfair practices adopted in the nation’s administration.
Don’t worry, M’sia is rolling down d slippery slope of exporting bright ppl while retaining Umno B/BN friendly ppl n their cronies
By 2020, we may b joining some other troubled nations beset by abuses fr within
Oredi some buildings, even without an earthquake, came tumbling down
Imagine an earthquake in 1M’sia, many buildings would tumble n collapse
All bcos of corruption, kickbacks, underpaid sub subcontractors, 1/2 past 6 professionals
Y would bright ppl n professionals remain in M’sia n get insulted by Umno B/BN
there was an excellent article published on saturdays the star section star biz, highlighting the ‘disappointed doctor’s’ letter and everything about brain drain.
Off topic though but it should be good read.An Interview With Mohd Saiful Kukhari.
http://msian-spring.freevar.com/saiful.htm
Can’t even lie properly this Saiful guy and yet he wants the world to believe he is sodomised.NIAMAH!!
///I put it to you again the link between Anwar and NEM while significant is not critical/// – Bigjoe in posting #2 .
I am inclined to agree with the commentator’s observations.
The NEM has got several good features, for examples deregulation of share acquisitions by foreigners or even locals above threshold of RM20 million with exceptions of strategic industries or where inb case of property Bumiputra holdings are not diluted in favour of non Bumis/foreigners. liberalisation of the services sector, including financial sector paving the way for more fund management companies and also new licences to foreign banks is also not a bad thing. Raising from 49% to 70% of foreign ownership shareholding limits in existing stock broking companies and unit trust management companies for retail sector is also OK. There’s also no complaint about about amending Capital Markets Services Act to strengthen the enforcement powers of the Securities Commission on corporate governance transgressions by errant company directors/officers.
What we see here is some tentative steps and minor chipping on the sides of the whole edifice of NEP. A more substantial dilution of NEP may be perceived politically unacceptable to a constitutency used to NEP for 50 years. So maybe one can argue that the changes are not significant enough to reverse in any meaningful way investors, whether foreign or local, adverse perception of the economy being over regulated, or inefficient due to the NEP induced crony patronage system still firmly in place. Certainly if these measures do not confront directly this patronage system that politicians associated with the ruling parties and their friends have a vested interest in, it would be fair to doubt the prospects of the NEM, inspiring especially in the area of attracting back Malaysian diaspora, or for that matter, foreign talents that the NEM purports to do.
However to link success or failure of NEM to prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim? To an extent yes if one looks at (say) whether NEM can attract foreign esp American investors. With the Washington Post blaring away how Anwar is politically persecuted twice by same sodomy charge, it is doubtful that investors from US, one of our main trading partners, will be “inspired” to support NEM’s goals but in spite that many will be cheesed off by the prosecution, the real immediate link on which the success or failure of NEM is pegged is more relevantly directly tied to presence or absence of political will to reverse in substantial way the NEP, Bumi-Non Bumi dichotomy, their corollary of patronage politics, corruption etc than just the perceived unjust prosecution of Anwar, the Opposition head. The latter issue at best has but only an indirect link, and the downside of harping too much on such an indirect link is that the political opponents of Pakatan Rakyat will get the indelible impression that they have done right in identifying the prosecution of PR’s defacto head as the correct decisive strategy to unwind the Opposition Front as proven by the sheer concern of its component parties’ leaders to repeatedly harp on this indirect link and its alleged negative repercussions on the much vaunted NEM (in lieu of comparatively more direct factors such as lack of political will by the government to dismantle the edifice of the NEP, Bumi-Non Bumi dichotomy, their corollary of patronage politics, corruption etc)in order to demotivate the govt from continuing its prosecution…
Razak has launched a multimedia 1 Malaysia campaign to promote the virtues of “perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy.”
This looks to be a hurdle too high for a political establishment whose credibility is too low, for an economy that for two years has suffered net outflows of foreign investment, and for a culture suffering some confusion. – The Australian.
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Such a mixed bag of political, economic and cultural WOES is good enough to trigger an exodus of talent to greener pastures overseas.
As the Chinese saying goes: “No eyes to see (which means couldn’t care less), pack and leave”.
adoi ahpek your link looks so fake man, it’s impossible that was saiful, his command of english is poor and pathetic. that surely can’t be him.
chengho: “wck; i was sacked from Dap on the official charge of ‘not showing affection ‘ to the party leaders . have you heard of any explanation given by Dap leaders , saying the allegation by zahrin and tan not true and we will come clean and show proof?”
Ahmad Ismail & Nasir Safar have not been sacked by Umno for making racist remarks although Najib had publicly declared that Umno is not a racist party.
Is it because Ahmad Ismail & Nasir Safar had shown enough ‘affection’ to the party’s ideology and leadership?
Is there any explanation by the top Umno leadership that comes clean and proves that Umno is not a racist party despite not sacking its members Ahmad Ismail & Nasir Safar for making racist remarks?
saiful is a ningkapoop, he should have just joined politics like the rest and hopped parties and would have got an easy 50million like those perak mp’s, why go humiliate yourself with your underwear and all. lol
dclxvi it’s pretty obvious umno and its ideaolgy and its mentor mahathir all bunch of racist people.
//Today, South Korea’s GDP per capita is US$16,450, Singapore US$34,346, Hong Kong US$29,559 while Malaysia is still at US$7,469 – with the disparity between Malaysia and these countries set to become wider in the coming years and even risking of being overtaken by countries like Thailand, Vietnam and even Indonesia!// (YB Kit)
The underachievement of Malaysia in the per capita income is the end-result of inferior quality in the decision making and policy making of Barisan Nasional. Many Umnoputra political leaders can sing very well about the song of national food security when they give a public speech. However, when come down to the basic, those talk-only leaders from Umno can only make things worse by implementing the irrational policy of giving subsidies to the ruminant animal farming of Malaysia.
For the past 30 years, meat-purpose animals such as Boer goats had been distributed to the farmers free of charge but the farmers were required to sign certain delivery order documents which entailed some over-priced imported goat species items. The farmers’ signatures being put on the goat delivery documents were not only the proof of acceptance of goods delivered to the recipients, but the signatures also gave endorsement to the goat importers to release undercounter commission payment to the top government officers. As a result of poor market survey and poor feasibility study on ruminant farming prospect in Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional government had aggravated the poverty problems in the rural areas by giving subsidies in terms of live goats to the farmers. The live goats usually took up a large portion of the family budget of a farmer, for the feeding costs could be very exorbitant in view of the farmer’s facing shortage of grazing land due to poverty. After growing the goats for about a year, the farmer would have come to a stage for him to wake up from a nightmare of putting himself at verge of bankruptcy by raising goats. When the goats had grown up to the matured stage after one year for slaughtering purpose, then it would also be the time for the farmer to find that the sale value he could salvage from selling goats would barely be enough to cover all the cash being laid out for paying the animal feeds in the past one year.
The inferior quality in the decision making and policy making of Barisan Nasional leaders affect most Malaysians of different religious backgrounds and different racial backgrounds.
It is very sad to hear that a Boer goat farm owned by a Chinese Malaysian farmer in the location of Chenderiang, Perak is sourcing for a goat farm bailor now due to insolvency. It is also very sad that a Feedmill located at East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which is owned by Umnoputras, has recently failed to get adequate cash to pay off the handphone bills of its marketing manager and salesmen.
Sometimes, I just think that it will be much better for the unemployed youngsters from rural area to go work as a rubber tapper in the estate instead of harping hope on the free livestock goats being given by the BN Government. This is because when a poor youngster begins to engage in boer goat raising business through the debt financing of bank borrowings, he is likely making a first step forward towards bankruptcy since he has stepped into a quagmire of infeasible business model, which has been earnestly preached to him by the BN’s half-past-six Agricultural Minister. In the end, Malaysia can only obtain the result of a low per capita income, a bankrupt farmer, and a persisting insecured national food security problem that will see no turning around in the near future.
sai-fool buka-lagi ? what a joke man.
Before anyone miscontrue my stand on this, I would like to elaborate.
While I think the direct link between Anwar and NEM is not strong, what Sdr. Lim is doing is more than fair. I say go for it.
In the first place., UMNO/BN is never about playing fair. Their core ideology is about playing with unfair rules. Is there any point about talking fairness?
But the bigger picture aside, is using sensational means to highlight a legitimate issues unfair? Grow up I say. In fact I like it. It show political savvy and cunning in dog-eat-dog game. The argument that Sdr. Lim cannot or should not link Anwar trial to NEM is a lot worst and idiotic all on its own. Go for it Sdr. Lim..
Actually, come 2 think abt it, Umno B Malays hv evolved 2 b very smart, devious, n cunning
Excellent at creating slogans, capitalising on claim of being natives 2 exploit n monopolise
Ingenious at controlling d judiciary, AG, polis, Petronas, msm, divide n rule, etc
Great economic model 4 many like-minded gomens 2 follow
Umno B Malays will survive well lah, they can market their ideas globally
N be consultants 2 many like-minded gomens that wish 2 implement similar NEP
What is the diff between sodomy 1 and 2? In 1, the issue was an internal matter to umno – between mamak and anwar. A matter of anwar not agreeing with certain policies of mamak and mamak wanting to stay on forever. In 2, the issue now is between the rest of us malaysians vs umnoputras. The rest of us have grown intolerably impatient and extremely unhappy and disgusted with the excessive, abusive, corrupt, incompetent and arrogant ways of umno and umnoputras. Going by pure logic, the rest of us ought to win the match with umnoputras hands down. Umnoputras is still standing simply because it has unleveled the playing field to their favour.
It is never a loss to UMNO when the brain drain is from non ketuanan race. In fact, its good riddance as far as UMNO is concern. As an UMNO elected Member of Parliament said in Parliament “kalau tak suka, KELUAR lah”.
There is no need for brain gain as any educated person(s) will sooner or later question the biased policies of UMNO.
It’s far better to gain uneducated peasants from neighbouring country, who will increase the ratio of ketuanan race & voters in M’sia, who will be beholden & not question the policies of UMNO.
Its far easier to control uneducated peasants than educated middle classes.
Malaysia has fallen behind S. Korea. HK, Singapore and Taiwan. These countries have galloped ahead of us with per capita incomes of 2-4 times ours.
The question is why? The fact that these countries have outstripped us when we are rich in natural resources when they are not is even more galling.
The notable difference between these countries and Malaysia is the racial polices which limit economic and education opportunities for non-Malays. When some segment of society is prevented from achieving their full potential, the whole country suffers.
The unfair racial policies have other negative effects like brain drain and encouraging lazy, dependent and rent-seeking mentality and damping private investments.
As long as the country is governed by Umno, racial policies will remain and the economy cannot go to the next level. In fact, it cannot even stay where it is with our neighbours progressing faster than us.
Najib has no magic bullet. As Umno president, he can do nothing to remove the racial policies. 1Malaysia is just an empty public relations exercise. Not even the most glaring racial policy such as non-Malays having to pay more for houses has been removed.
I don’t see any hope unless PR can win power in the next election. Otherwise Malaysia will become a maid exporting country in 10 years. One day we will hear of Malaysian maids being abused in Singapore or Jakarta.
/// Ken G on Monday, 8 February 2010 – 2:46 pm
Malaysia has fallen behind S. Korea. HK, Singapore and Taiwan. These countries have galloped ahead of us with per capita incomes of 2-4 times ours.
The question is why? The fact that these countries have outstripped us when we are rich in natural resources when they are not is even more galling. ///
The answer is – those countries you quoted above – their population are mostly chopstick wielding.
//31 …”kalau tak suka ,keluar lah ” by motorist..This’s exactly the kind of attitude Umno has inculcated to their own malays race. Look at the statistics, malays has the highest divorce rate,the highest drug addict rate,the highest mat rempit rate,the highest incest and rape rate,the highest school drop out rate,the highest unemployed rate,the highest criminal rate in the county and the list can add on. It’s this particular attitude that has driven the malays community into having so much social and economic ill problems.It’s also this kind of attitude from umnoputras,warlords and cronies which drove thousands of good local brains to other countries.It’s also again this kind of negative attitude which has driven out pretty lots of foreign investors and preventing new ones to come in and forcing local big time business-men away from malaysia. I think if Umno/Bn continued to employ with ” kalau tak suka keluar lah ” attitude/policy,given say 5 years from now,malaysia would be the least of all Asean countries in term of social and economic development.
I work in IT/telecoms, and I see the best Chinese and Indian brains (and sometimes not so great brains) emigrating to Australia.
Why?
Partly because they think they will have better opportunities there.
But mainly for two reasons:
(1) Their children will get a better free education.
(2) They won’t be treated as second-class citizens by the ruling party.
These people won’t be coming back, except for holidays.
Does UMNO have a policy on this, or is it very happy for non-Malays to leave?
“Malaysia has fallen behind S. Korea. HK, Singapore and Taiwan. These countries have galloped ahead of us with per capita incomes of 2-4 times ours.”
Should also include tiny Macau which was poor back in 1980, but today had a GDP/capita more 3 times of Msia