http://dapmalaysia.org Forward Feedback
"Selangor Maju " or "Selangor
Malu" ? (Petaling Jaya, Friday):
On
February 28,1991 , former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched
the "Vision 2020-Malaysia As A Fully Developed Country" at the
inaugural meeting of the Malaysian Business Council in Kuala Lumpur.
No one seems to believe that
Malaysia could achieve the target. Not even the man who gave birth to
the idea. For Mahathir had not even talked about achieving the goal in
his later years as the prime minister of this country.
15 years have since passed but the
possibility of achieving the status has never been slimmer than now.
I wish to invite all Malaysians in
general and the Selangor MB Mohd Khir Khir Toyo in particular to take a
closer look at some of the excerpts of the Vision 2020 document and compare
that with the progress (if any at all) Malaysia has made so far…
"By the year 2020, Malaysia can be a
united nation, with a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral
and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and
tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and
prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive,
dynamic, robust and resilient.
"There can be no fully developed
Malaysia until we have finally overcome the nine central strategic
challenges that have confronted us from the moment of our birth as an
independent nation. The
first of these is the challenges of establishing a united Malaysian
nation with a sense of common and shared destiny. This must be a nation
at peace with itself, territorially and ethnically integrated, living in
harmony and full and fair partnership, made up of one 'Bangsa Malaysia'
with political loyalty and dedication to the nation. The
second is the challenge of creating a psychologically liberated, secure,
and developed Malaysian Society with faith and confidence in itself,
justifiably proud of what it is, of what it has accomplished, robust
enough to face all manner of adversity. This Malaysian Society must be
distinguished by the pursuit of excellence, fully aware of all its
potentials, psychologically subservient to none, and respected by the
peoples of other nations. The
third challenge we have always faced is that of fostering and developing
a mature democratic society, practicing a form of mature consensual,
community-oriented Malaysian democracy that can be a model for many
developing countries. The fourth is
the challenge of establishing a fully moral and ethical society, whose
citizens are strong in religious and spiritual values and imbued with
the highest of ethical standards. The fifth
challenge that we have always faced is the challenge of establishing a
matured, liberal and tolerant society in which Malaysians of all colours
and creeds are free to practise and profess their customs, cultures and
religious beliefs and yet feeling that they belong to one nation. The sixth is
the challenge of establishing a scientific and progressive society, a
society that is innovative and forward-looking, one that is not only a
consumer of technology but also a contributor to the scientific and
technological civilisation of the future. The seventh
challenge is the challenge of establishing a fully caring society and a
caring culture, a social system in which society will come before self,
in which the welfare of the people will revolve not around the state or
the individual but around a strong and resilient family system. The eighth is
the challenge of ensuring an economically just society. This is a
society in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the
wealth of the nation, in which there is full partnership in economic
progress. Such a society cannot be in place so long as there is the
identification of race with economic function, and the identification of
economic backwardness with race. The
ninth challenge is the challenge of establishing a prosperous society,
with an economy that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and
resilient.
"Since much of what I will say this
morning will concentrate on economic development, let me stress yet again
that the comprehensive development towards the developed society that we
want -however each of us may wish to define it -cannot mean material and
economic advancement only. Far from it. Economic development must not become
the be-all and the end-all of our national endeavours.
"Since this Council must concentrate
on the issues of economic development and economic social justice, which for
this nation must go hand in hand for the foreseeable future, let me expand
on the perception of the central strategic challenges with regard to these
two vital objectives.
"At this point it is well to define in
greater detail the objective of establishing an economically just society.
"Of the two prongs of the NEP no one
is against the eradication of absolute poverty -regardless of race, and
irrespective of geographical location. All Malaysians, whether they live in
the rural or the urban areas, whether they are in the south, north, east or
west, must be moved above the line of absolute poverty.
"This nation must be able to provide
enough food on the table so that not a solitary Malaysian is subjected to
the travesty of gross under-nourishment. We must provide enough by way of
essential shelter, access to health facilities, and all the basic
essentials. A developed Malaysia must have a wide and vigorous middle class
and must provide full opportunities for those in the bottom third to climb
their way out of the pit of relative poverty.
"The second prong, that of removing
the identification of race with major economic function is also acceptable
except that somehow it is thought possible to achieve this without any
shuffling of position. If we want to build an equitable society than we must
accept some affirmative action. This will mean that in all the major and
important sectors of employment, there should be a good mix of the ethnic
groups that make up the Malaysian nation. By legitimate means we must ensure
a fair balance with regard to the professions and all the major categories
of employment. Certainly we must be as interested in quality and merit. But
we must ensure the healthy development of a viable and robust Bumiputera
commercial and industrial community.
"A developed Malaysia should not have
a society in which economic backwardness is identified with race. This does
not imply individual income equality, a situation in which all Malaysians
will have the same income. This is an impossibility because by sheer dint of
our own individual effort, our own individual upbringing and our individual
preferences, we will all have different economic worth, and will be
financially rewarded differently. An equality of individual income as
propounded by socialists and communists is not only not possible, it is not
desirable and is a formula for disaster.
"But I do believe that the narrowing
of the ethnic income gap, through the legitimate provision of opportunities,
through a closer parity of social services and infrastructure, through the
development of the appropriate economic cultures and through full human
resource development, is both necessary and desirable. We must aspire by the
year 2020 to reach a stage where no-one can say that a particular ethnic
group is inherently economically backward and another is economically
inherently advanced. Such a situation is what we must work for efficiently,
effectively, with fairness and with dedication.
"A full partnership in economic
progress" cannot mean full partnership in poverty. It must mean a fair
balance with regard to the participation and contribution of all our ethnic
groups - including the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak - in the
high-growth, modern sectors of our economy. It must mean a fair distribution
with regard to the control , management and ownership of the modern economy.
"In order to achieve this economically
just society, we must escalate dramatically our programmes for national
human resource development. There is a need to ensure the creation of an
economically resilient and fully competitive Bumiputera community so as to
be at par with the NonBumiputera community. There is need for a mental
revolution and a cultural transformation. Much of the work of pulling
ourselves up by our boot-straps must be done ourselves. In working for the
correction of the economic imbalances, there has to be the fullest emphasis
on making the needed advances at speed and with the most productive results
- at the lowest possible economic and societal cost.
"With regard to the establishment of a
prosperous society, we can set many aspirational goals. I believe that we
should set the realistic (as opposed to aspirational) target of almost
doubling our real gross domestic product every t en years between 1990 and
2020 AD. If we do this, our GDP should be about eight times larger by the
year 2020 than it was in 1990. Our GDP in 1990 was 115 billion Ringgit. Our
GDP in 2020 should therefore be about 920 billion Ringgit in real (1990
Ringgit) terms.
"This rapid growth will require that
we grow by an average of about 7 per cent (in real terms) annually over the
next 30 years. Admittedly this is on optimistic projection but we should set
our sights high if we are to motivate ourselves into striving hard. We must
guard against 'growth fixation', the danger of pushing for growth figures
oblivious to the needed commitment to ensure stability, to keep inflation
low, to guarantee sustainability, to develop our quality of life and
standard of living, and the achievement of our other social objectives. It
will be a difficult task, with many peaks and low points. But I believe that
this can be done.
"In the 1960s, we grew by an annual
average of 5.1 per cent; in the 1970s, the first decade of the NEP, Malaysia
grew by an average of 7.8 per cent; in the 1980s, because of the recession
years, we grew by an annual average of 5.9 per cent.
"If we take the last thirty years, our
GDP rose annually in real terms by an average of 6.3 per cent. If we take
the last twenty years, we grew by an annual average of 6.9 per cent. What is
needed is an additional 0.1 per cent growth. Surely if we all pull together
God willing this 0.1% can be achieved. "If
we do succeed, and assuming roughly a 2.5 per cent annual rate of population
growth, by the year 2020, Malaysians will be four times richer (in real
terms) than they were in 1990. That is the measure of the prosperous society
we wish and hopefully we can achieve.
"The second leg of our economic
objective should be to secure the establishment of a competitive economy.
Such an economy must be able to sustain itself over the longer term, must be
dynamic, robust and resilient. It must mean, among other things:
· a diversified and balanced
economy with a mature and widely based industrial sector,
· a modern and mature
agriculture sector and an efficient and productive and an equally mature
services sector;
· an economy that is quick on
its feet, able to quickly adapt to changing patterns of supply, demand and
competition;
· an economy that is
technologically proficient, fully able to adapt, innovate and invent, that
is increasingly technology intensive, moving in the direction of higher and
higher levels of technology;
· an economy that has strong
and cohesive industrial linkages throughout the system;
· an economy driven by
brain-power, skills and diligence in possession of a wealth of information,
with the knowledge of what to do and how to do it;
· an economy with high and
escalating productivity with regard to every factor of production;
· an entrepreneurial economy
that is self - reliant, outward - looking and enterprising;
· an economy sustained by an
exemplary work ethic, quality consciousness and the quest for excellence;
· an economy characterised by
low inflation and a low cost of living;
· an economy that is subjected
to the full discipline and rigour of market forces. "
And now, with regard to the
establishment of a prosperous society, Malaysia has failed to achieve a
growth of 7% annually since 1997, one of the pre-requisites to become a
fully developed country by 2020. We may not be able to achieve even 5%
growth for 2005.
And Malaysia has undeniably fallen
short on all other targets set in the Vision 2020 pronouncement.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
has recently initiated the formation of IAP (International Advisory Panel)
with an aim to achieve Vision 2020 in the remaining 15 years. We will soon
find out whether he means business or business as usual.
But Abdullah really need not worry
about not achieving the targets of Vision 2020 if he's willing to pass the
primeministership to the Selangor Chief Minister Dr Mohd Khir Toyo. We are
quite sure that Khir will do a DIY ala the Selangor model.
Khir
Toyo appears quite certain to call Selangor a fully developed state on
Saturday, 27 August 2005.
If Khir Toyo cares to read carefully
what Mahathir has outlined in the Vision 2020 document ( read:
a fully developed nation has to be a united nation, with a confident
society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society
that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and
equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy
that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient ) , he
would not be thick-skinned enough to proceed with his plan on the coming
Saturday.
Last week, the Selangor State
Government has heeded our call to postpone the "zero squatters 2005" program
to the middle of next year. That's a wise move as the State has not been
able to provide sufficient low-cost units and transit homes for all urban
pioneers by end 2005. Khir
Toyo should also heed our call to drop his Selangor MAJU plan. DAP Selangor
and other NGOs will then abandon our plan to stage a symbolic protest
gathering entitled "Selangor MALU".
Why Selangor MALU (shameful)?
Apart from manipulating facts and
figures and hijacking credits from other states and the Federal
administration, Selangor is plagued with some serious problems under the
leadership of Khir Toyo.
With a population of about 5 to 6
million… 50,000
Selangorians are still living in squatters or squalid 500,000
Selangorians are living in low-cost flats measuring only 650 sq ft
some 8,000
university graduates in Selangor are still unemployed short of 4,000
police in Selangor short of 1,000
teachers in Selangor some 3,000 taxi
drivers in Selangor have no permits of their own some 2,000
fishermen in Selangor struggle to make ends meet in Selangor after the
recent diesel hikes short of 500
doctors in Selangor short of 100
SJKCs in Selangor poor conditions
in general for SJKTs in Selangor 75%of the farmers
in Selangor have no lands of their own short of football
fields and other sports facilities in Selangor Poor public
transport system in Selangor Heavy traffic
jams in many of the Selangor townships Highest number of
privatized highway toll gates in the country Highest number of
illegal hawkers in the country 90% of the rivers
in Selangor were polluted Much of the hills
and greenery in Selangor were destroyed or damaged Many factories
have moved and more are moving away from Selangor Poor management
of water supply in Selangor The first
cancer-causing incinerator will be built in Selangor Serious lack of
democracy in Selangor Rampant
destruction of Indian temples in Selangor Inequality in
allocation of funds for religious establishments in Selangor Highest level of
corruption in local governments in the country Serious lack of
transparency in drafting structural plans in Selangor Highest disparity
of income in the country Highest
incidences of land grabbing by government politicians in the country
And the list is endless…
(26/8/2005)
*
Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, DAP International Secretary and NGO bureau chief
|