Ahmad Zahid said that the Madani Economy Framework aims to provide a harmonised environment in which all Malaysians from all walks of life can benefit.
PETALING JAYA: The physical development of the infrastructure in the country must be balanced with spiritual development to provide the right environment for a progressive economy to thrive and manifest, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Rural and Regional Development Minister also stated that such a balanced development would not only be appreciated by the recipients but would also provide them with the utmost satisfaction and pride.
He also said that the days of the government-knows-all when it comes to dishing out development to the people are over and that it should not be all about “physical happiness”.
Ahmad Zahid said this during the Naratif Khas programme on RTM1 titled “Senada Memperkasa Ekonomi Madani” (In Unison, Strengthening Madani Economy) on July 31, aired live in conjunction with the ongoing six state elections.
Ahmad Zahid said that the talents of Malaysians should be nurtured from pre-school level.
In the one-hour programme, moderated by Sayed Munawar Sayed Mustar, Ahmad Zahid said that the Madani Economy Framework aims to provide a harmonised environment in which all Malaysians from all walks of life can benefit.
The Madani economy
On July 27, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched Madani Economy: Empowering the People Initiative – a comprehensive plan for Malaysia to address various challenges and issues related to its competitiveness and investment attractions, as well as outlining actions to address current issues that affect people’s lives.
The Madani Economy initiative sets seven key performance indicators as medium-term targets to be achieved within a period of 10 years.
The seven indicators are: Malaysia being in the top 30 of the world’s largest economies; the top 12 in the Global Competitiveness Index; labour income constituting 45% of total income; women’s participation in the labour force reaching 60%; top 25 in Human Development Index; top 25 in the Corruption Perception Index; and fiscal sustainability with a fiscal deficit of 3% or lower.
“This will speed up Malaysia to be among the 30 countries with the most development and strengthening of the economy in the world. This is not impossible.
“We would also want to be 12th on the global ranking in terms of foreign domestic investment and direct domestic investment. “Our other aim is to ensure our country is in the top 25 in human development index while addressing corruption and budget deficits.
“Women’s employment should be 60% as well and I support this personally and officially.
“Urbanisation must not only be in physical terms but also in terms of character, thoughts and spiritual development of the people.
TVET programmes with 231 giatmara centres offer 99 courses to 13,000 trainees, all sponsored by mara. Almost 93% of those who Enrolled in tvet courses were emplo
“As for the hardcore poor, we intend to break the cycle of poverty through the coordination of various programmes by different ministries under my supervision as the deputy prime minister.
“By the end of this year and next, we aim to put hardcore poverty at a one-digit percentage.
“We will help those hardcore poor and those in the B40 income category by not giving them fish, but by teaching them how to fish,” said Ahmad Zahid.
Addressing poverty
According to the Poverty Report 2022, the rate of rural poverty has decreased from 12.9% in 2019 to 12%.
The hardcore poor in rural areas have also dropped from 0.9% in 2019 to 0.7% in 2022.
As of last June, 206,885 heads of rural households registered with E-kasih, with 60,229 of this number being in the hardcore poor category.
Ahmad Zahid pointed out that with the margin of poverty being raised from RM2,209 to RM2,589, more households will be categorised as poor and hardcore poor.
However, he said 70% of the lower income categories have managed to increase their incomes when they took part in income-generating programmes.
“Almost 93% of those who enrolled in TVET courses were employed. The Lestari programmes which empower the rural communities also assist cooperatives in rural areas which generate income for rural communities and address the high cost of living.
Large-scale farming by agencies under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry will notonly ensure food security butalso provide employment.
“We want to ensure that the physical development brought to the rural areas is also appreciated by the people who benefit from it.
Utilities and infrastructure
“We allocated RM1.09bil to build 150km of rural roads and there are about 1,000 projects of 330km with the allocation of RM399.1mil to connect rural roads.
“For those who have yet to get clean water supply in rural areas, we target 4,800 units of houses with an allocation of RM379.4mil.
“For the supply of electricity to the targeted 2,100 houses, we have allocated RM472.1mil. About 200 social amenity projects with an allocation of RM66.1mil are also in the works,” said Ahmad Zahid.As for the empowerment of bumiputera entrepreneurs, Ahmad Zahid said that MARA, an agency under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, has the “Gate to Global” programmes to assist local small-time entrepreneurs to market their products and services globally. On food security, Ahmad Zahid said that the country must be self-sufficient in its food production so that Malaysia does not need to import that much.
“This is because our currency leaving the country would affect our currency’s worth,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid pointed out that large-scale farming by agencies under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry such as Felcra, Risda and Lembaga Kemajuan Wilayah has many programmes such as cow-farming, poultry-farming, and farms for various agricultural produce such as coconuts and agro-food such as vegetables and fruits.
He said that these programmes not only ensure food security but also provide employment for the locals in those areas.
Resilient workforce
As for entrepreneurship, the minister said that an addition of RM400mil in allocation for micro-grants for all agencies, including MARA, was announced by the Prime Minister during the launch of the Madani Economy initiative.
“The Rural and Regional Development Ministry has a complete ecosystem for entrepreneurship that addresses the micro-level to the export-level, and includes capacity-building, financial assistance, provision of premises, access and marketing as well as technology assistance,” said Ahmad Zahid.
He insisted that the talents of Malaysians should be nurtured from pre-school level.
“There are 545 Taska classes for children aged two to four years old and 10,931 classes of Tabika (for those aged four to six years old) under Kemas, with a student population of 215,064 people nationwide.
“Talents should be nurtured from preschool years and from that very young age, we instil science, technology and maths with spiritual and religious subjects,” said Ahmad Zahid, stating that Orang Asli communities are not left behind.
He added that Kemas would also implement the Pre-Tahfiz Tabika programme involving 100 classes and 1,500 children beginning this month to place importance on Quranic education and Islamic Appreciation Modules.
As for higher levels, Ahmad Zahidi said that his ministry is looking to add MARA junior science colleges (MRSM) offering Ulul Albab programmes, which have been introduced this year. This is a programme that all Muslim MRSM students must follow.
“Hands-on approach in educational institutions under the ministry, such as in the University Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology, where students are exposed to the latest technology in a practical sense, has produced industry-ready graduates.
“For dropouts, TVET programmes with 231 Giatmara centres offer 99 courses to 13,000 trainees, all sponsored by MARA,” said Ahmad Zahid.
