robest pemandu economic transformation program

PETALING JAYA: The people, who were described as the movers and shakers from the private sector, gave their input on the top national key economic areas (NKEAs) to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy.

The Government roped in the top executives and strategists because “we cannot afford to continue stale policies that do not address current and future economic imperatives,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when opening the workshop yesterday.

He added that Malaysia rose to the upper-middle income bracket in 1992, but had long since been stuck in the middle income trap.

“Our purpose in bringing all of you together for the workshop is to seek the private sector’s guidance in making investment decisions for the country, rather than relying solely on the Government to determine which industries to prioritise for strategic investment,” he said.

Men on a mission: Muhyiddin arriving at the MAS Academy for the NKEA workshop in Petaling Jaya Wednesday, flanked by Idris (seond from left) Jala and Minister in the Prime Minister's Dept Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop (right). — AZHAR MAHFOF / The Star
After getting feedback from the workshop, the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) would then chart how each NKEA would help increase Malaysia’s per capita income from US$7,000 (RM22,445) per annum to US$15,000 (RM48,097) by 2020.

Some of the sectors with high potential include electrical and electronics (E&E); palm oil, oil and gas (O&G), tourism, high-value agriculture, green technology, financial services and information technology.

Muhyiddin added that NKEAs must complement Malaysia’s on-going efforts to further develop sectors with a competitive advantage; and to build and capitalise on new and emerging sectors crucial to the country’s long-term growth.

After listening to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala’s one-hour presentation, the private sector top guns brainstormed for two hours.

Idris said NKEAs could be identified using either the sectoral or geographical approach, or both.

He added that Kuala Lumpur would enjoy a special focus in accelerating Malaysia’s growth.