Malaysia is inundated with policies that “look good on paper” whereas the real challenge lies in effective implementation have 70 agencies that provide some sort of skills training, and 35 agencies that provide SME support programmes. “This proliferation and fragmentation hinder implementation. Because of this successive fragmentation, people don’t know where to go to seek assistance, and it perpetuates inequalities. The learning poverty rate in the country is at 40%, higher than most countries in the region.“If you don’t get the schooling right, especially at the early primary and pre-schooling stage, you’re not going to get much (results in improving the country’s productivity growth),”

Prof knows the landscape well. I like his statement “despite all these, we have a vibrant SME and a growing Malay middle class”. To get started, we do need the will to go down this path of betterment and a shared vision among the Rakyat.

I think before we discuss anything about government policy, it's important to understand that the fundamental of any policy has to take into consideration the human factor. And that's what is lacking in this interview. What the professor reads from some books, articles, and research papers is often time very much different than the real world. That's why rarely if ever any government policy produced the outcome that it intended while the unintended outcomes are plentiful. When the professor talks about the State, it's as if the State is a person. The State is not a person, the State is a collective of politicians and bureaucrats that each has their own individual interest that often times in conflicts among themselves. Each administration is often more busy negotiating among themselves to retain their power and interest and I wonder how the professors could think that they would have time for the Rakyat. I personally think that government policy will only produce 2 outcomes. Either the policy will incentivize the Rakyat to be independent of the government or it will encourage the Rakyat to be dependent on the government. Tepuk dada tanya selera, which one is the aim of our gov policy for the past 65 years? One point that the Professor accurately pointed out is our poor education system. Our gov has been lowering our education standard just so that ministers can boast that Malaysia has a high percentage of graduates. The purpose of public education fundamentally should focus on 2 things. The ability to tell right from wrong and the ability to solve problems. Sadly public education produces none of these traits. That's why private schools are booming all across the country. Driven by one shared value that unites Malaysians across race and religion - high-quality education. However, what is the government's policy in education for the past few years under PH? Massive budget to upgrade the school facade, give free breakfast, change the color of school shoes, free Wifi, free tablets, and abolish UPSR and PMR but nothing to increase the standard of education. In fact, some Sabahan students have to bring a civil suit against the absentee teacher for missing class for 7 months. And instead of firing the teacher immediately and settling the suit, MOE decided to fight the students in court and lost. So I'm just wondering where the Professor got all this optimism in thinking that all our problems will be solved if we just elect the right people for the job given that this happened under a new government. Beautiful policies and manifestos are only beautiful to read, the real world is run by human self-interest.

The conversation certainly put a spotlight on the hidden wealth of resources we have in the people left behind. The fact that there is a black parallel economy in operation is a testament to human ingenuity and the art of survival, when all avenue fails. Life goes on and it is the force that is delivering the change to Malaysia. Thank you for this conversation. Cheers!

I thoroughly enjoyed this exchange and dialogue between two Malaysian intellectuals. Cheers from Pennsylvania, USA. ❤🎉,🇲🇾🇲🇾👏🙏👍🇺🇲🇺🇲

In Malaysia, all big or small government affiliated projects will involved a ‘middle person’ to get a cut. It can be the politician or the businessman with ties with bumi- tenders(cronies). That's why you see all government tenders has significantly ‘mark-up’ their proposal. Depending on the deals or who was involved,

I agree with the Prof views..

Politics is the art of possibilities while balancing all things, to not create tsunamis and reduce trauma to the minimum....

Excellent points which our leaders are either intellectually or morally incapable of grasping or doing.

I'm amazed at the striking similarities of thinking between our prominent economists Prof Terence Gomez and Prof Jomo Sundaram. Malaysia is so lucky to have these two giants.

Great Super speech

Thank you for this interview. Gives Malaysia new hope

Excellent. Well presented.

Barely managed to get halfway and stopped. These two going round in circles and completely ignoring to state the essentials. 1957 document explains why so much of today is why it is how it is. Total silence on this from the duo. Why are the states mentioned as fallen behind in that condition? Total silence. Performance of governance? Why is it so poorly executed? Total silence. Middle class mentioned but silence on its composition which had they done that would explain a lot of why performance is high in some areas and poor in others, but again silence. Oh, dear, had one had the discipline to trudge to the end what other comments might have poured out, no idea. Black economy mentioned as the largest portion of the economy but nil discussion on where it is. Gargantuan corruption of, by and for the elites not mentioned, in first half anyway. The fundamental change in the mindset of those taking centre stage compared to the two generations from 1957, which will profoundly impact the next two generations not mentioned. Yes I can go on, but it’s best to stop. Enough is enough. Good Night.

Excellent pointers by the professor totally agree with him.

We need to revamp the education system. Bring English as the medium of instruction. We have to start now because in order to be a society to compete & participate in the industries, economy & technology in the future. Bring back meritocracy & not Bumiputra quota be given priority that overrides the opportunities for other eligible candidates to get an equal opportunity in education.

Govt should be in the business of facilitating SMEs to become successful corporations. Instead the GLC which are Govt owned are competing with the SMEs and then becoming a burden to the country's budget

‘Malaysia needs reforms’ It had been said many, many times in many, many ways. When races, religions, nepotism & corruptions are the obstacles in politics, the country will not be able to move forward.

Would love to hear your views on the Sarawak issues with PH 1.0 that causes them to move away from supporting pakatan Harapan. We only know base on what has been reported in the media, issues such as payment of federal debts for repairs of schools, JKKK, no airtime on national TV that causes them to setup TVS, unfulfill promise of 20% oil royalty, the Petronas court issue, amongst some of them. Not to mention that Anthony Loke have to personally fly in to appologise to Sarawak when they decided to backed PN in forming the federal government after the 15th general election. These would make up a good discourse for part 2 of the Sheraton move discussion.

Malaysia has a Rampant Corruption Problem … if Malaysia is serious about tackling this Serious Problem, maybe consider introducing Whistleblower Legislation… Not Only Protection for Whistleblower & Family But also Monetary Reward for Whistleblower… Less Talk , More Action…Then Watch heads Roll … 😂

The middle class in Malaysia are no longer capable of looking after themselves like they use to. Fact.

The big problem is that most of the Malaysian national leaders resist to reform their mindset , in terms of greed , power , wealth , selfishness , etc. They are not concerned about the well-being of the people ....

Yes Malaysia is like a Kampung style mentality. Too much politics & egos running non stop across all matters. Should focus more on steering the ship in the right direction & bring everybody across.

There needs to be an overhaul of the system if we hope to compete with the rest of the world. But seeing how the education system has always been used as a political tool, any hopes of such a prospect would be untenable. Its a stupid system because of too many exams, and the exams are written badly. Students only know how to memorise, not think.

I'm following closely the Indonesian elections, and if Pak Anies became president (with his "Perubahan" team) this June and all the reforms and policies that are promised by "Paslon" no 1 are implemented, Indonesia's reform will leave us behind. The points that Prof Gomez highlighted vibrates with the current lethargy. Rethinking and implementation of fresh policies for Malaysia is a must.

The whole session was very informative and factual. Chuang, I have also heard/watched several other interviews with other experts. In this session, you mentioned that Indian economy is in a mess. I have been hearing that India's GDP is one of the fastest growing in this region. Could you clarify your remarks that I mentioned above.

Quiet agreed,well said and explained.

If Malaysia need a serious Reform is to UNITE ALL THE RAKYAT with the ONLY BEST WAY is...Put all Students of all races together into ONE SCHOOL just like in the After Independent Day where the young school children Mix freely with each other even sit next to each other regardless of what their Religions are...

Interesting discussion...

1st thing 1st, MA63 must be honoured as agreed in 1963 and return all the rights back to the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak.

Malaysia is really struggling with the English language & it’s not just the majority ethnic group. Most younger generations Malaysian Chinese struggle with English too. They were mostly educated in Chinese schools.

We must keep supporting and help to malaysian Indian and Chinese

True we need alot of reforms in d administration of d country

In Malaysia, if you want good economy, is very simple : one good example is look to (1) Penang's economy history and (2) corruption free. The rest of the goods will fall in line. The change of 2018 political landscape didn't materialise because we had a pseudo and wolf in sheep's clothing leader who maliciously turned everything upside down until we now have 👍 the perpaduan madani government under PMX. Another good example is to look to our southern neighbourhood, Singapore 🇸🇬 👍 and their English language for all segments.

Reforms yes! But don't forget reality also.

he is great man for Malaysian.

Government linked companies = Political linked companies.

A recent incident where a top Indian student at a local public university boldly raised the issue of meritocracy in his speech at an award ceremony shows that it is time for the government to start moving towards meritocracy, It was the right platform to raise the issue although many would not agree with me, how much longer is the government going to abuse the system enough of enough.

Excellent interview with great insights

What happened to most of the local MNCs that were the golden children of the 80s?

SOOOOO GOOD, THERE IS HOPE! Harapan.

Everybody knows that changes takes time even take generation, what is worrying is that we did not plant even a seed for changes. More worrying is we don't see the seed of changes. Should we worried? Nah, we should panicking.

A good view abt the role of the state by gomez.. and the primary attention to the people. But the question of changing the education system is something thats always talked abt but most problematic to tackle..

Exactly.

I think after hearing this vibrant talk this should be give some thought n implication to improve this economy which is going down the drain

Excellent and well said!

Singapore is a small country. If compare to KL, or even Klang Valley, we are not far behind. Singapore rich because people put money there. If anything happen, investors will pull out the money.

The problem is Malaysia has two distinct & functioning economies that aren’t interacting well enough. Capital & labor flows are inhibited.

everything including reform takes time. lotsa engagement and discussion need to take place for rakyat to understand. otherwise it will fail eg icerd ratification that brought about alot of uneasiness. political stability also very important to undertake reforms, unless we may see alot of govt change. so pls give time and discuss first to kick start it

It is easier to say than done.

Very forward looking ideas,, do something for ypur country.

easier said than done.

Reforms back ito square one, need format

Save this man at all cost

It’s problem that Non Malays who feel discriminated against in Malaysia see China in glorious lights. As a matter of fact, most Chinese, especially the youths, believe the Chinese economy is heading a wrong direction.

I think the term is underground economy instead of black-market.

The quota system is beyond serving its usefulness. It is way past time to reassess its usefulness and how it helps this society now to push Malaysia forward. We now have a lopsided system that has pandered to a group who depend extensively on hand outs to survive and it has enabled a corrupt elite who have bankrupted the people. The bad politics that excludes the brightest, heavy focus on religiosity and forced brain drain over 60 years has pushed Malaysia out of being an Asian tiger. That dream cannot be achieved now. Others can learn from the mistakes of Malaysia in ASEAN to become Asian tigers. THAT ONCE ACHIEVABLE DREAM LOST, LARGELY BECAUSE OF THE APARTHEID POLICIES. Malaysians are now fighting to push this country upwards in a background of corruption, cronies and segregation by race.

Reforming the country across the board after the huge past damages 💔 of the country through political corruption is not simple, easy, seamless, or short-term. Some constitutional laws are myopically discriminatory and outdated, such as the NEP....

Just going to pen some of my key thoughts and recommendations Thoughts 1. NEP has tremendously failed, more so post 1990 as NEP is totally irrelevant and must have a new "high level" economic model to promote growth, happiness and prosperity 2. A lot of the problems with these "poor" states you mentioned are also due to their own people fault. They voted for not just the most incompetent, useless bunch of people but, also the most extreme. It's like you know poison is bad and can kill you, yet you swallow. 3. Unfortunately, in all countries, more so a multi-racial progressive democracy like Malaysia, politics will be there and can be very prevalent. That's the fact, and in some ways, this diversity can be good for the country as well. Recommendations 1. Malaysia must now take an "uncompromising" approach where focus is on 100% merit, good values and technology to rapidly progress whilst at the same time, government in particular must allocate maximum of 30% of the money, time, effort and expertise to helping people, communities and companies that need the most regardless of race/ethnicity. 2. The current coalition government must go much further to attract the poorer states to join in, by highlighting the benefits they will get whilst at the same time, eradicate religious extremist and stupidity in the country, which are primarily found in these states anyway. 3. Malaysia must TRIPLE down on domestic SME's given that they constitute a very high majority of the jobs and companies in this country. Provide funding is a key part because for a SME, RM1mil funding/loan is a life saver which can propel the company to great heights in the long term but, for big companies, it may just be a bonus for 1 CEO. Additionally, have to go all out to help them in terms of networks and knowledge/talents.

It's looks very unbalance with minniority prof is brilliant

70's is he referring to an equitable education intervention policy which gave rise to the middle income? 1.11.33 video time frame

All talk no action will not move the education landscape one bit forward.

In News, government gave so much fund to companies. In reality, it's not. Similar MCO time by leveraging bank go for moratorium and telling public government this fund billions to help rakyat but in actual fact the bank moratororium is charging interest to pay back 😂

I disagree with Terence Gomez. Whilst I agree a semblance of a middle class was "created" out of the NEP policies, this class has withered from the 1980s onwards or became self-interest with aggrandizement, mostly on taxes and state subsidies. There is not one strata of the middle class but three. It's so easy to forget this social structure. Moreover, this middle class, at different junctures, fed into the policies of ill-distribution of economic growth and development. The top two strata survived well and saw modest to substantive growth in their real salaries. They were comfortable and remain comfortable today despite the high rate of inflation, which, if official statistics can be believed, is somewhere between 1.5 to 1.8%, while the official interest rate still holds at 3%. At least on paper, then, the middle class is doing relatively well compared to working class, the under-employed and the unemployed. But, realistically, is this true? Because if it is, if GDP figures can be believed (or trusted), why then is there such a continuous need by the Malay state to inject more and more subsidies of income and price floors and even price ceilings to pare back popular feelings of resentment against the state for not for enough for the so-called "people", the so-called rakyat? But which "people"? Which "rakyat"? And so we go back to the original question: Whatever happened to Malaysia's so-called middle class after 1981 (and since then)? My guess is, foremost, it has become more ideologised and more politicised. Which then needs an answer as to who -- mostly -- constitutes the middle class and where do they operate -- the private sector or the public sector?

How to change and reform when Dr. M is still rocking the boat and using the racial and religious issues to cause ripples and waves in the Malaysian Parliament? $350 billions in debt. 70 over years of entrenched power and secular rights. Too much in-fighting and power grabs. PM Anwar is having a very tough time like "one is against all and all is against one". If the majority does not believe that Malaysia is for the Malaysians, then forever the racial and religious gaps in the society will not gel together. Very sad indeed.

Plant edible food trees in all govt landscapes...mee goreng mamak gone up from rm 6 to rm 9 in some places...perhaps plant breadfruit all over the country which could be made into mee noodles/ mee segera....sori gangguye boss....wsslm wbt...

U are welcome to contribute Economic reforms in Malaysia for the sake of nation progression. But stay clear from provoking the stability of Malays and Islamic rule in Malaysia.

Professor T G should joint into politics.

This prof basically has similar viewpoints as Prof Jomo regarding the rapid privatization of Malaysian economy

Reduce the number of ministries, grp the major problems , put the brain to work.. targets timed to net the results expected.. merit based institutional set up needed

But with Fadhlina I feel hopeless.. I seriously hope Maszlee go back to edu dept

Time has proven that Lee Kuan yew is supreme statesman than mahathiar.... Malaysia has so much resources and yet the currency can't compare to Singapore.... Malaysian are divided according to races.... What a joke

He compare Malaysia & other rising economy nations & wonder what went wrong. Very obvious. Malaysia rely & employing too many foreign workers. Korea & Japan rely on their own people . Malaysian are not ‘berkorban untuk negara ‘ .

🥱

Not multi-racial but Civilisational, sub-culture, tribal n hunter gatherer communities.....🧐🤔

1. Are you talking, about or only for the middle class or are you talking about the real poor in Malaysia? 2. Singaporeans are generally more than happy even the poor. A cleaner can travel all over the world habitually. They have enough. They are spoilt. Some are somewhat unhappy because they expected more. The Singapore government have done a lot for all including the real poor.

Eppa than puriyuthu evalavu nalla onnum puriyala rakyat undestand pannanumla yes policy

The biggest hurdle is the politicians whether they are the government or the opposition. Politicians only worry about getting elected again and again. The voters vote them in again and again as if the politicians are angels. Regardless who is in power, nobody dares to touch those monopolistic enterprises or concessions. Who dares to switch to a meritocracy system at the expense of the votes? We have most of the dumb MPs voted in by dumb voters.

Correction. Malaysia does not lack good policies. Malaysia totally lacks good, competent, clean & honest leaders

Macam Co tu mohon ampun cina tu kan terima kasih bosku malam 🤲🧕🙏♥️

Wishful thinking, pie in the sky stuff. Vested MALAY INTEREST will derail and sabotage it from the get go. Just have to sympathise with the rakyat.

Reforms? That sounds like wet dreams.... ROTFLOL IMHO to reform North Korea is much easier.

😅 You can talk till the cows come home 😅 Nothing is gonna change as long as everything is racialised by the 50 % of the population. You know which 50% I am talking about 😅. No prize for guessing.

The problem with malaysia is no will power to change to improve the country the problem 3R.... Malaysia is rich country...vast land but cannot supply enough rice. Twisting turning end up customer end up losing paying about 100% from. Rm26/10 kg to rm43/10kg. .

Reforms are fine. But, changing white shoes to black shoes for school children is no big deal.The structure needs reform in education as echoed by many educationists time and again.

Mahatir gave projects to selected companies time and again, via direct negotiations, justifying this by saying to save time and ensuring completion of projects. But unfortunately those in charge of these companies got greedy and corruption at the same time. Look at all the old malay run corporations you will get the pictures.

Nothing new here. Everything here has been said many times donkey years ago.

THE PROBLEM BEGINS WITH RACE BASED POLICY.

My pessimistic view. The Prof missed 2 main realities. No: 1 merit-based Malaysian Malaysia policy is out of question and cannot be compromised as this policy will put the non-Malays in top positions elbowing out the Malays. No:2, Malays must uphold power, no matter how ignominious as it sounds, race politic are here to stay putting all the prof's wonderful ideas to the back burners.

With a 2/3 majority in parliament, there is no clear indication of reformation for a better Malaysia similar to Indonesia's reformation.

But the young Bhutanese are not exactly happy caused they could not find jobs in their own country and many are leaving the country to find jobs! You need to find the balance.

Anwar is not delivering the reform. Vote him out.

He is not clear in his discussions...he needs to listen to PROF. NALAPAT..

You prof should saud since mahathir regime, why now only.

Not climate change, davos narrative. Evolved from global warming

I am sorry.I don't find this interview very illuminating or in depth. It's all over the place and so generalized. For example , Why bring the Happiness Index of Bhutan? Just stick to Malaysia lah! From the very onset of our independence, Malaysian politics was based on race. Unless there is a unified vision of what Malaysia is - as a vibrant truly multiracial country where there is equality and equal opportunities for all, the motivation to reform will not happen! As long as there's a 'ketuanan melayu' mind set, the country will stay divided and hubble along at best. I would have like to listen to the proffessor expound on issues facing the country ( education, the humungous civil service, agricultural reforms, tax reforms, etc) without too much of the interviewer side lining him ; my humble opinion. happen.

Lee Kuan yew is the best national builder

Oh this guy is so uncouth in many instances. The comment about President Xi is really unbecoming.. Yet proclaimed that have been to China recently. Not that I'm pro Xi but Singapore gov commented that China cabinet is one of the most meritocracy and capable in the world! If u want to comment such way so it privately not in here. So uncalled for. Hope it helps.

SOE? In China? Vietnam? Pls know enough about SOE in China & Vietnam before you talk about them.

His views represent only 3% 0f the population .....