Tuesday February 9, 2010
‘Aid needs restructuring if Malaysia is to be competitive’
By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must be prepared to face the removal of subsidies if it wants to become a more competitive country equipped with a high ratio of intangible assets, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.
The Prime Minister added that subsidies for industries, the public and consumers must be restructured and phased out, while greater domestic competition must take place.
Lovely gift: Najib admiring a crystal vase presented to him by ACCCIM president Tan Sri William Cheng during the launch of the 1Malaysia Economic Conference at the KL Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur Monday. He said there must be better allocation of national resources and efforts made to address the misallocation of these resources due to subsidised domestic prices. “Giving freer rein to private initiative and market forces, however, has important consequences. We may not be able to afford over-subsidised and under-priced energy.
“Nurturing of infant industries must be done differently and based on skills, technology, access to capital and marketing support, not on protection.
“We must develop not only domestic champions but domestic champions that can become regional and global champions.
“The sooner we realise these new realities, the better it will be for all of us,” he said at the launching of the 1Malaysia Economic Conference organised by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) at the KL Convention Centre yesterday.
Najib cautioned that domestic investment has been falling over the years and this needed to be reversed.
He also said government-linked companies (GLCs) tended to work on their own and there was less interaction with the private sector.
“I believe greater interaction is in order for our GLCs to connect with the private sector,” he said, adding that the Government and business community should pool their intellectual resources and chart a course which would enable the country to become a dynamic and forward-looking nation.
He added that while the Government would continue to adopt a spirit of openness in its policy formulation, it still did not have all the answers.
Najib said the New Economic Model and the 10th Malaysia Plan were the final push towards achieving Vision 2020 and this needed three essential components, namely human, private and social capital.
The PM also said there were about 300,000 to 500,000 professional Malaysians working overseas and efforts must be made to offer incentives for them to come home.
He gave his assurance that the Government would continue to remove policies that shackled private investors.
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