10th Malaysia Plan; What Say You?

Last Friday, our beloved Prime Minister announced the RM230 billion package under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) for the year 2011-2015. All the media masses seem to be supportive and believe that Malaysia, among others, can achieve 6% GDP growth per year until 2015 to match the targeted RM38,850 (USD 12,140) gross national income. Another point that I would like to highlight is that the government also aims to increase the private sector investment by 12.8% which is equivalent to RM115 billion per year.

I am not skeptical in believing that Malaysian economy will not grow, but as an investor, we need to analyze the current economic situation and make logical assessment based on the findings. Its true that in 1Q 2010 we recorded a positive 10.1% growth, which I agree is a very good sign of recovery from 2008 crash. Nevertheless, since April 2010, the FBMKLCI has tumbled due to the Euro debt crisis, and there is still no positive sign that this crisis will end in near future. So, I doubt that our 2Q or 3Q reports will record growth rate similar to the 1Q.

For Malaysia to achieve 6% GDP growth per year, it needs private investment growth of 12.8 per cent a year compared with the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), which recorded only a 2 per cent growth. Yeah, you didn't read it wrongly, under the 9MP, the investment from the private sector is growing only 2% per year.

So, what should we do to increase from 2% to 12% ?

The government must plan attractive packages to woo more investors into our economy. Southeast Asia region, especially Malaysia, is full of potential as a good investment because of our economy and politic stability, cheap labour, emerging markets, strategic location and our leadership in the OIC and in the establishment of Halal Hub for the world market.

The government must also monitor the progress of the plan so that the people will know how well are we doing and how close to the target we are. But, that is not the case if you refer to the 9MP. I tried to find reports that summarize the 9MP and its implementation, but failed to find any. Instead, I found out that it was reported the 9MP is unsuccessful due to the 2008 economy crisis. What the hell? Where's the growth in 2006 and 2007? And by early 2010, we have fully recovered from the crash. Yet we still managed to find some excuses for the non-performance.

And don't even get me started on the construction projects in the 10MP. Why?

Because in the 9MP, we have these:

1) Terengganu Stadium Incident

2) Parliament Roof Leaks

3) Jalan Duta Court Complex Leaks

And there are a lot more if you know where to find.

Again, I would like to stress that it is very important for the government to monitor the progress and the implementation of our 10MP so that it will lead to a desired result. If all we do is talk, talk, and talk without actually act on our words, most likely we are doomed to fail. As a proud Malaysian citizen, I do not want to see that happen in my beloved country.

Salam 1Malaysia!