Here is MalaysiaKini’s report on the economic briefing by Jomo KS to Selangor State Government which I blogged about earlier.
‘Vision 2020 likely to be put back by 10 years’
Dec 18, 09 1:08pm
Malaysia’s vision of becoming a developed nation by the year 2020 will be delayed by 10 years, said the country’s best known economist, Dr KS Jomo.
According to Jomo, who is a senior United Nations official, the average GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 9 percent before the 1997/1998 financial crisis have been slashed to only around 5 percent.
He said private investments in Malaysian has significantly reduced and public spending is now becoming more prominent as the engine of growth.
Jomo, who was a professor of economics in Universiti Malaya before joining the UN in 2005, met with senior Selangor government leaders yesterday to give a private briefing on the global economic crisis and its impact on Malaysia’s most industralised state.
“Also attended the lecture at the State Secretariat building in Shah Alam were Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Selangor economic adviser Anwar Ibrahim, members of the state executive council including Teresa Kok and Dr Hasan Ali,” said a statement issued by the MB’s office.
S’gor in better position than other states
Jomo argued that Selangor has an advantage over other states because of its location, existing infrastructure and the fact that it is already the preferred investment destination for many industry players.
He said it was imperative for Selangor to attract high value-added industries and create jobs with decent salary scale.
“He proposed for Selangor to focus on the developing strategies to attract these industries without using too much of the government’s resources,” said the statement.
During the briefing, which involved showing a number of slides, Jomo provided an example of the public-private partnership (PPP) model that benefits both the government and the private investors as one of the way to propel the state forward.
But he cautioned the state against embarking the old PPP model which promotes corruption.
The assistant secretary-general for economic development in United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs, who is in Malaysia for a visit, also gave a lecture on global economics to a packed hall two weeks ago.