KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 ― In a glittering ceremony, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched today the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government’s roadmap for Malaysia to progress as a nation towards becoming a real Asian tiger once more within a span of just 10 years.
In his speech, the prime minister said the main aim of the Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) is to restore Malaysia’s economy and provide a decent living standard to all Malaysians ― regardless of their ethnicity, social class and location ― by the year 2030.
He said that like a cancer, the nation’s economy had been marred by rampant corruption and power abuses in the past 20 years and the unequal distribution of wealth needed to be fixed immediately so all Malaysians, especially those who had been neglected, could receive an equitable share.
He noted that past affirmative action policies that aimed to help the Bumiputera community as the country’s largest demographic group that was economically stunted had failed, due to opportunistic people who abused their powers.
“The issue here is not the Bumiputera agenda but the abuse of power and corruption that is never ending. These practices have deprived the Bumiputera in need of their opportunities and support.
“As a doctor, the only way I see to get rid of this cancer is to cut it and throw it away,” he told a large audience at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here.
Dr Mahathir said the income gap between the poor and the rich has been growing and if not checked, will balloon out of control.
He noted that the GDP contributions differed from state to state. The top contributors were from states like Selangor and the Federal Territories at 40 per cent, while the combined contribution from five states — Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah, Sarawak and Pahang — totalled 25 per cent, or just a quarter of Malaysia’s GDP.
As such, Dr Mahathir said the government needs a long-term plan to address the wealth inequality among the states, which will be based on the ecosystem, industries and skills most suited for the people in the particular region, and which can be modernised.
He said the government is targeting to raise its GDP to RM3.4 trillion by 2030 with an average annual growth rate of 4.7 per cent over 10 years through the SPV.
Dr Mahathir said the figure is only being used as the government's target and will not be the sole proof of the wealth of the country or the people.
This is because the government's priority is more towards ensuring the people have a strong purchasing power amid the ever-increasing cost of living, he said.
“There are countries that pay high incomes in the billions of ringgit but purchasing power is very low. Hence we are careful in raising income because every time we increase salaries and other remunerations, the cost of living would increase.
“This time we intend to raise income that leads to an increase in buying power (as) the purchasing ability is more important than the amount given,” he told a media conference after the launch.
Dr Mahathir believes the SPV will help the Bumiputera community increase its equity ownership to 30 per cent compared to the original social engineering charter of the 1960s drawn up as the New Economic Policy.
“SPV is our mandate today and the gift for our future generations.
“We want a Malaysia that is happy, peaceful and with successful people. I urge all Malaysian’s to band together and pool our resources to make this SPV dream a reality,” Dr Mahathir said.
