The
Star Malaysia (2017-01-20/Sport) - As the
nation enters its 60th year of independence, it is now time to set the
direction for ...
PETALING JAYA: The 2050 National Transformation (TN50) policy will be a
shared vision that will give everyone, especially young Malaysians, an
opportunity to shape the nation in the years to come.
This, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, is because 2050
belongs to young Malaysians.
“I do not want to get up on a platform and just deliver a speech and ask
the people to accept that as their vision. I want this new vision to come from
the people, so you have a sense of ownership and belonging.
“It is only a shared vision if it comes from all of us,” he said at the
launch of TN50 at the Dewan Tunku Canselor Universiti Malaya last night in
front of 500 young Malaysians.
The TN50 is Malaysia’s roadmap
for the next 33 years.
Najib stressed that as a leader, it was important to listen to the views
of the people who could help shape the future of the country.
He added that many things had changed in the last 60 years since Malaysia
attained independence. As such, it was pertinent to look at the next 30 years
that would shape the country’s future.
Relating his own childhood experiences, Najib said his late father, Tun
Abdul Razak Hussein, used to tell him stories of his younger days.
Najib said that despite coming from an aristocratic family, Abdul Razak
still had to go to school barefoot and did his arithmetic on sand.
“That’s because we were a poor country then. Even I did not have an easy
life.
“When I went to school, I was only given 30 sen as pocket money, I used
to cycle from Seri Perdana to Tanglin Hospital to buy nasi lemak.
“I remember the old man who sold nasi lemak under the
cherry tree for 30 sen, but if you wanted the sotong and daging (squid
and meat), it cost 50 sen.
“But that is in the past. Things have changed today and this is a
reminder, we have come a long way,” he said.
Najib explained that TN50 would take time to bear fruit, likening it to
the New Economic Policy (NEP) which started in the 1970s and Vision 2020 that
followed.
“The world will change radically in the next 30 years, so the time is
right for us to look into the future. We begin so with this dialogue tonight
(yesterday),” he said, adding that it was a historic and meaningful moment for
all Malaysians.
Najib said that when he came into power in 2009, the MRT was merely a
plan on paper, but six years down the road, the first phase had been completed
and was now running.
Similarly, projects such as the High-Speed Rail, which will link
Malaysia and Singapore, the Pan Borneo Highway and the East Coast Rail Line are
among the visions for the country.
“This is all in our capacity as a nation. We can do it if we own this
vision through proper planning. In the last 60 years, we have delivered,” he
said.
Najib outlined two medium-term goals – to grow the economy from RM1.3
trillion today to RM2 trillion in eight years.
The second goal is for Malaysia to be a top 20 nation in the world.
However, Najib said the rankings could be measured in terms of the gross domestic
product (GDP) or the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
He said in terms of PPP, Malaysia is higher, standing at about US$24,000
(RM106,770) while at GDP, it was at US$10,000 (RM44,500) per capita.
“We also want to measure public happiness, but we cannot measure private
happiness,” he quipped.
Najib said it could also be measured in terms of innovative or creative
indices.
“I only mentioned these for now because I want a bottom-up approach, I
want it to come from all of you.
“Our journey has started,” he added.
What the youth say…
As a public servant, I want to see a world
class public service in Malaysia, I would like to see a more efficient public
service. Our delivery service is almost perfect, but there are many things we
need to integrate. There are many spaces which we can improve on, like making
it easier to do business or remove regulations. For example, businesses in
Kuala Lumpur may have needed a lot of licences to operate but now you don't
need so many. Waiting for passports used to take one month, then it was seven
days, now it's two hours without compromising security. We can make it easier
(for people to do things).
Wan Abdul Hadi Wan Mohd Shafie, 36, civil
servant.
I would like our education system to be
worthy of nobel laureates or to be world renowned.
Fanitsyara Kam Phon, 23, final year
biotech student at UM, from Ipoh.
My aspirations for TN50 is for Malaysia to
be a carbon neutral if not carbon negative country, a minimum quota of forest
reserves, and for a higher adoption of renewable energy as a main power source.
If 60% of our power sources could be from renewable energy by 2050, that would
be good.
Rashvin Pal Singh, 29, environmentalist,
KL.
There is a need for inclusive growth so
that Malaysians on the lower rung of the economic ladder can progress in the
next 50 years.
My thoughts are from the perspective of a
youth who will be at least a generation older by the time TN50 is realised.
Malaysia's model of growth should ensure consolidation of wealth so the
benefits trickle down to all levels of society.
Adam Reza, 25, intern with a public
affairs consulting firm.
I hope to see Malaysia develop smart
cities for the future, by addressing three key areas - connectivity, waste
management and safety of people.
Our development should also be
sustainable, and technology should be used to improve protection.
Piek Qian, 23, former student leader in the UK
Malaysia has a good infrastructure system
but this should be expanded to include the rural areas, so the people there are
not left behind.
Also, we should not be too greedy in our
quest for transformation, and analyse how our actions will not just
industrialise certain areas but how it will impact the people there.
Dr Azeem Shah Ajaz, 26, rural contractor
from Sabah
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