KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s claim that the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) is a success is mere window dressing. The opposition feels that this is just a cosmetic exercise designed to win votes.
Kuala Selangor (PAS) MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said Najib appeared “too enthusiastic” in announcing its success, signalling the government’s preparation for national polls which is likely to be held early next year.
“Given that he can hold the 13th general election anytime he wants, the PM appears too enthusiastic to inject a feel-good factor among the voters especially the business community,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here today.
The ETP is one of Najib’s key formulas to turn Malaysia’s ailing economy around and since its unveiling last year has raked in RM170 billion in investments gained through 65 entry point projects (EPPs), and boasting a 50% completion of the 131 identified EPPs in less than a year.
It is projected to contribute RM220.2 billion in gross national income (GNI) and is expected to create 362,396 new jobs, Najib said in his latest announcement yesterday that included nine new National Key Economic Area (NKEA) initiatives.
Six other initiatives have already been unveiled independently by project owners since the last ETP update in April. These 15 initiatives are expected to generate RM63.4 billion in investments, RM66.3 billion in GNI and 63,531 new jobs.
Structural reforms not in sight
Dzulkefly claimed that Talent Corporation, a body tasked with nurturing and retaining talents in the country, is a failure.
” We need skilled workforce which is the biggest stumbling block to increase per capita income and liberate Malaysia from the middle-income trap.
” The efforts by Talent Corporation to bring back talent from abroad have not yielded any results,” he said, adding that the so-called success of the ETP is merely “on paper”.
He also questioned the companies involved in the EPPs. Companies like Tricubes Bhd and Karambunai Corp Bhd had seen their shares shooting up but there has not been much progress.
Tricubes, a controversial company almost delisted for its fiscal problems, is the company awarded the contract to design the 1Malaysia e-mail service worth RM50 million while Karambunai will construct an integrated city resort in Sabah worth RM9.6 billion under the tourism NKEA.
Dzulkefly, a trained economist, said these large-scale projects cannot conceal the frail economy, which was caused by structural weaknesses.
“What is before our eyes is how do we solve problems like the lack of human capital and delivery system, which is rife with leakages and wastages…,” he said.
But Najib said yesterday that the government will begin implementing the 51 policy reforms recommended by the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) in its New Economic Model (NEM) report last year to ensure the country’s continued competitiveness.
The reforms will be executed in stages by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).
Fourteen policy measures have been placed under existing NKEAs and national key result areas (NKRA), while the remaining 37 have been grouped in six strategic reform initiative (SRI) clusters.
The clusters comprise public service delivery, public finance, human capital development, international standards and liberalisation, the government’s role in business, and narrowing disparities.-FMT
