"Endorse a Sustainable 10th Malaysian Plan as a Solution to the Weakness in the National Economic Policy"

Jeong Chun Phuoc
26 Dec 2009

The article "Set Right Weakness of NEP"(The Star 25 dec 2009 at p. N52) by Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam in response to Datuk Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi's piece(Sunday Star 20 Dec 2009) raised interesting features on the weaknesses of National Economic Policy.

Despite the perceived 'failures' of the NEP, both authors must acknowledge that several NEP's objectives carried out under the respective PM's administrations ie Dr Mahathir's vision and Abdullah's 'Islam Hadhari' have been achieved in several aspects although there are more room for improvement from both legal and environmental aspects which are discussed hereinbelow :

Environmental Performance

Previous NEP have failed miserably from the environmental performance aspect within the NEP implementation framework. This has been rectified by the recent establishment of the Ministry of Green Technology, Energy and Water followed by the Green Technology Policy and the Renewable Energy Policy & Action Plan blueprint. However an improvement in clean and renewable energy performance will not see a parallel improvement in overall quality of life for all citizens if other aspects of the environment performance are neglected. An example is the execution of projects that may caused serious and long term environmental impact on the natural environment comprising of fragile eco-systems and the Orang Asli who live within these habitats.

Citizen Participation in Civil Service

Ramon's take on this issue is unjustified. Ethnic-based civil service is a result of non-participation of other races which is compounded by the perceived intolerance of other ethnic groups within the civil service sector.

This is a misperception because the door to civil service is always open to all suitably qualified citizens of Malaysia . This includes the Police Force, the Armed Force etc.

Foreign and Local Technologies Transfer Dilemna

The industrial revolution since Independence 1957, and various industrial policies have propelled Malaysia 's GDP by leaps and bounds. However, knowledge economy ie E-economy has changed every traditional features of the traditional NEP where innovation and wealth creation have emerged as major trend-setter of the 21^st century.

Unfortunately, continuous reliance on foreign aid ie FDI and foreign owned patented technologies will not transform Malaysia into world-class creator of technologies if development of local technologies are not set within sustainable technologies transfer and development arrangement (TTDAs) with major players.

An example is the biotechnology scenarion. BioTech Corp current strategic thrust in the creation of biotechnology is only a limited model. Several constraints remain unresolved within the TTDAs framework. Hopefully this requirements will be set out appropriately within the implementation phases in the upcoming 10^th Malaysian Plan(RM-10).

Internal Security Act 1960

The Internal Security Act 1960 and Official Secret Act 1972 are laws that still retain colonial remnants of the past. As the objectives of these laws are defined by Parliamentary intention, there is nothing legally wrong or oppressive in these two laws. However, what is offensive is perhaps the selective enforcement of these laws, which are at times, contrary to public interest. A law reform revision if any should focus on the provisions implementation aspects. An example is whether document forgery/falsification attracts ISA or Penal Code.

For ISA, the 'Advisory Board' apart from complying with Article 151 (2) Federal Constitution should include a more diversifyied board members from the public.

Official Secret Act 1972

For OSA, a revision if needed would focus on the proper application of OSA provision to certain documents. According to the Schedule- Section 2A of the OSA, 'official secret' are those documents concerning national security, defence and international relations etc. An example is whether a Bukit Antarabangsa Landslide Report/document attracts OSA in the first place.

Environment KRAs and KPIs

Key Results Areas (KRAs)and Key Productivity Indicators(KPIs) are pure economic based criteria. Unfortunately, the environment al performance index/indicator (EPI) is excluded from the KRAs and KPIs real evaluation. Hence, EPI must alos be included within the larger KRAs and KPIs evaluation process.

Green Economic Thrust

MyTEN's core purpose of establishment is to spearhead National Economic Transformation. An economic transformation without Green Revolution is a disjunctive strategy that may derail or even distort long term economic performance.

A case in point is the current Climate Change phenomenon brought about by unsustainable Industrial Revolution of the 20^th Century. It is anticipated that past and current Green Policies will help transform Malaysia into leader of Green Industrialisation not just within ASEAN region but also within Asia 's larger environmental charter.

Traditional weakness in the NEPs have not be rectified by the Ninth Malaysian Plan. But these weaknesses and those raised by both the authours above can be straightened in the next 10^th Malaysian Plan. It is therefore hope that the proposed 10^th Malaysian Plan-which is still on the drawing board- will rigorously incorporate the crucial components raised above so as to achieve real sustainable economic growth and environmental development conjunctively.

A successful implementation strategy must therefore address not just economic fundamental weakness but emphasize both strategic legal and environmental performance modalities.

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Jeong Chun Phuoc
Lecturer-in-Law
(and a reader in Strategic Environmental Intelligence(SEI)
he can be reached at : Jeongphu@yahoo.com