10th Malaysia Plan - Rhetoric or Reality?

Posted by Khoo Kay Peng

Firstly, the government should have done away with the 5-year economic planning. At today's pace, any economic model would have to be readjusted every six months to a year. Market is fluid and ever changing. It is almost impossible to plan anything for five years.

Fine, if the government insists of doing it the same old way. However, the plan must have a wow factor. It is obvious that PM Najib is a non risk taker. Some of the details in the 10th MP have been repeated far too many times but with little to show e.g. attracting foreign talents.

Cyberjaya was created specifically for the same purpose- attracting talents from abroad. What has happened to it since the last 4-5 years? It is no longer the industry buzzword.

Simply, there is no major transformation proposed for the Malaysian economy. What is our new game to bring this country to the next level? Creating a Talent Corp is not a solution. What makes Malaysia an attractive destination is a serious question which must be answered by the PM and his team of advisors.

Likewise, he wants to attract back investments into the country. What are the main elements which would attract investors to put their money in the country?

PM's flip flop on the Bumiputera equity requirement is not going to endear the country to foreign talents and investors. This is a reality and not a rhetoric. Why would a skilled foreign talent come to a country which does not practice full meritocracy?

It appears that the government is again lacking in creativity when comes to the education sector. It proposes the creation of "trust schools". The main issue is not how many categories of schools are being created e.g. Vision Schools etc. The main issue lies with the curriculum, teaching method and teachers' competency.

Does the government know how to make our primary and secondary schools world-class? Can the government put an institution of higher learning in the top 100 best schools in the world?

Some of the plans are quite notable e.g. severance pay of RM600 per month for up to six months, artistic development, foreign talents etc.

However, the government appears to be silent on several key issues which it must address e.g. the need to streamline the civil service, real capacity building of the Bumiputeras, curbing wastage and implementation flaws/inefficiencies in the federal government process, combating corruption, addressing regional economic disparity and others.

The government cannot rely on nice sounding words alone. At the end of the day, the plan will be judged according to its successes.

PM Najib must address his implementation system to ensure that the key elements of the plan can be implemented fully and effectively.

Otherwise the 10th MP will suffer the same fate like the past plans - mostly rhetoric and not reality.