At a time when Parliament is debating the Report of the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan, it is appropriate for Malaysians to ask: “Where will Malaysia be when it celebrates its first Centennial in 2057 in 34 years’ time?
In 1991, when the 30-year Vision 2020 was launched to achieve a fully developed country by the year 2020, there were 19 “developed countries” out of more than 160 states.
We failed in all the nine strategic challenges of Vision 2020, whether in:
- establishing a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny – 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.
- 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 – distinguished by the pursuit of excellence, fully aware of all its potentials, psychologically subservient to none, and respected by the peoples of other nations.
- fostering and developing a mature democratic society practising a form of mature consensual, community-oriented Malaysian democracy that can be a model for many developing countries.
- establishing a fully moral and ethical society, whose citizens are strong in religions and spiritual values and imbued with the highest of ethical standards.
- establishing a mature, liberal and tolerant society in which Malaysians of all colours and creeds are free to practise and profess their customs, cultures and religious belief and yet feeling that they belong to one nation.
- establishing a scientific and progressive society, a society that is innovative and forward-looking, one that is not only a consumer or technology but also a contributor to the scientific and technological civilization of the future.
- establishing a fully caring society, in which the welfare of the people will revolve not around the state or the individual but around a strong and resilient family.
- ensuring an economically-just society – 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.
- establishing a prosperous society, with an economy that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.
Having failed to achieve a fully developed country status and the nine strategic challenges of Vision 2020, will Malaysia be able to achieve these targets when Malaysia marks its first Centennial in 2057 in another 34 years?
Presently in GDP terms, Malaysia is ranked by the World Bank as No. 36 while in GDP per capita terms, Malaysia is ranked is ranked No. 56 among the countries in the world..
For the first time in Malaysia’s five-year plans, there is a commitment in the Report of the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan for Malaysia to rank within the top 25 countries in the global corruption perception index (C PI) within a 10-year period and that in 2025, Malaysia’s CPI will among world’s top 30 countries.
This will be the time for a judgement to be made on the reform agenda of the Anwar Unity government.