M. Niaz Assadla Kim Chiayi
As Malaysia celebrated the 50th anniversary of the independence in 2007, the Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz praised the Malaysian economic rising, and established a vibrant diversified race.society.However, in the following 15 years, many large -scale corruption and abuse of guest workers were publicly public, which harmed the international reputation of Malaysia and exacerbated domestic political turmoil.
However, the fate of Malaysia may be changing.At the end of last year, Anhua, who has long been the leader of the opposition party for a long time, swore to become the new Prime Minister.His record of efficient and non -corruption leadership provides people with sufficient reasons, hoping that Malaysia can return to the stable development path and benefit more people.
During his tenure as deputy prime minister and financial minister in the 1990s, Anwar led Malaysia to achieve a double -digit growth of GDP (GDP), making it one of the "five little tigers" economies in Southeast Asia.He played the core role in alleviating the spread of the Asian financial crisis, and in the process of dealing with all this, there was no slightest malfeasance.
Anwar's actions are in sharp contrast to Najib, another financial minister who later leads the cabinet.Under the leadership of the Najib administration, Malaysia was involved in the billions of dollars of corruption scandals from a Malaysian Development Co., Ltd. (1MDB) of the National Fund, and most of the plunder funds eventually flowed into his bank account.He has been in prison for 12 years for corruption and is serving his sentence.
Of course, Anwar himself has been imprisoned for nearly 10 years.The difference is that the allegations about him were broken after his relationship with Mahathir (the Prime Minister of Anwar Treasury Secretary), and the latter fabricated him to make him out of the political stage.
The current problem is whether the 75 -year -old Anwar can come up with the policy wisdom that has shown in the past and respond to the challenges facing Malaysia, especially when the inflation rate rises and the foreign direct investment declines, maintains the rear championshipThe recovery of the disease and epidemic age.This must first take emergency actions to strengthen the financial situation of Malaysia, including narrowing budget deficits and reducing debt burden.
For this reason, social expenditure must be reformed.Malaysia needs a more powerful social security network, but the financing of this requires the government to reduce financial loss through rationalized subsidies and ensure that resources and services have clear goals.Racial -oriented rescue dominated by the Malaysian social budget in history must be replaced by demand -based projects.
It is also essential to increase private investment.Making up for the impaired international image of Malaysia will help restore its position as a high -value investment competitive destination.Therefore, any measures to encourage private investment (foreign or other sources) must be accompanied by rules that ensure higher labor standards and business operations that meet international standards.Foreign direct investment flowing in the future should comply with the principles specified in the national investment outlook framework issued in April 2021.
In addition to attracting more foreign investment, the Anwar government must also cultivate the investment capabilities of local companies.Strengthening the efforts to transform local enterprises into high value -added global industrial leaders can benefit the entire economy of Malaysia.But the real estate industry cannot be improved in isolation.It is also important to establish a partnership with foreign investors who can provide cutting -edge knowledge, technology and capital.
In terms of trade, Malaysia will maintain an export -oriented system, while conducting reforms that are conducive to market, such as streamlining various types of non -tariff measures and reducing domestic regulatory obstacles, and strive to improve transparency and eliminate monopoly interests.The Malaysian government may also consider canceling the "approval permit" permit system for the import of agricultural products.This will help reduce food prices.
The same important is that the government of Anwar must break the "iron triangle" composed of bureaucrats, politicians, and human industries.It is this iron triangle that leads to abuse, exploitation and shortage in the Malaysian provider market.The export field of Malaysia has faced a serious shortage of labor.Unless Malaysia can ensure stable workers and protect their rights, local companies will not be able to develop, and foreign investors will not turn back.
The good news is that in his 10 o'clock campaign declaration, Anwar promised some of the above (although not all) priorities.But campaign commitments are often crushed by various political disputes and cannot be achieved.Overcoming the disadvantages that plagued Malaysia's economy depends to a large extent, it depends on Anwar's ability to maintain a strong and stable government.This is by no means easy, because his joint government consists of five members of the political alliance.
Anwar has passed his first political test and won the Congress of Congress's trust in his government.But in order to maintain government unity, he must carefully balance the interests of winners and losers.At present, it is gratifying that Anwar has reiterated his commitment to the election declaration, which shows that the political culture of Malaysia is actively changed.
The next step will be expanded and improved.This requires a regular dialogue with a civil society including representatives of all ethnic groups.Political parties from Sabah and Sarawak from East Malaysia joined the new government, which is also a historic opportunity to solve regional differences.
The challenges faced by Malaysia are undoubtedly arduous, but maybe no one can be more capable of responding to these challenges than Anhua, who is also a financial minister.Malaysia may soon usher in a new era of continuous growth and sharing.
Author M Niaz Asadullah is Monash University
Professor of Economics, Malaysia Branch
Director of Southeast Asia Cluster Global Labor Organization
Andrew Kam JIA YI is Malaysian National University
Professor of Malaysia and International Research Institute
English Original: Malaysia's New Dawn?
All rights reserved: Project syndicate, 2023.
