NEM: National agenda that transcends administrations
PUTRAJAYA: The National Economic Model (NEM) is intended as a wakeup call to Malaysians for a paradigm shift in the way things are done.
The National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) chairman Senator Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz during an exclusive interview with the See Hua Group of newspapers at Putrajaya said, “The NEM is only a model, a green paper that addresses the needs to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy and should not be confused with the preceding National Economic Policy (NEP) which was a target-based approach.
“We are now laying the foundations for the nation’s economy with the main emphasis being given to how to be productive to earn more money. The green paper after public discussions will ultimately translate into a white paper forming part of the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).”
According to him, the main intention of NEM is to elucidate public response before a policy framework is finally set into motion. This is a different approach whereby the government will point the way towards achieving a high income economy and leaving it to the public to apply the principles in their respective industries to realize its objective.
He said that this is the only way to push the nation forward into the next level of development. “The public needs to see exactly where we stand; we need to make sure that they are on the same page in order to effectively move forward to place the country on par with other high income nations.”
According to him, currently Malaysia is already in the mid income economy level and most people are in their comfort zone. Not many people are aware that we are facing challenges and in order to face these challenges we need a new approach to deal with the next step going beyond the mid income level.
“Change can be very painful unless people are awakened to the reality that these changes are necessary for the benefit of all. The NEM will define the Strategic Reform Initiatives (SRIs) that will propel Malaysia to the set goals first set forth in Vision 2020.”
He pointed out the country’s advantages include a diverse population, rich biodiversity and resources, strategic location in a high growth region, a well established manufacturing base and an attractive standard of living in urban areas.
“The responsibilities of the NEAC that formulated the NEM have not ended; much more needs to be done. Input and feedback are needed on the practical issues facing this formidable transformational process. The nation has begun the next leg of its journey through its high income endeavour to become an advanced nation,” he said.
Amirsham revealed that in the next few months a strategic implementation plan complete with specific policy measures will be announced after further consultations with the necessary agencies and the public.
Commenting on the announcement that the NEM was forecasting that the Malaysian per capita income will increase from US$7,000 to US$15,000 within a period of ten years, he said, “The public is under the misconception that this will be automatically achieved without any effort on its part. In reality this will not be achieved unless the public works harder towards achieving this.”
He stressed, “If you want to be part of this high income economy, you cannot afford to be a bystander and Malaysians should believe that they are capable of achieving the NEM’s aims as they have the capacity to do so.”
“The era of waiting for things to happen has ma
de way for an era of working hard to achieve a high income status,” he concluded.
by Ting Chiong Ping /April 6, 2010, Tuesday
Tiada ulasan: