Unite to take on global fight

Opinion - The Star Sunday September 11, 2005

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/9/11/focus/11909296&sec=focus

Unite to take on global fight

BY RITA SIM, GUEST COLUMNIST

BY 2020, Malaysia will be plugged into the globalised world. Our newspapers will be edited in India; our mobile phone problems will be sorted out in Thailand; our X-ray films will be read in Fiji; and our illnesses diagnosed in Cuba.

Meanwhile, we Malaysians will be busy with activities like arranging car rental services for tourists arriving in Florida and Ulan Bator.

The world is changing dramatically and barriers are coming down, even as governments try desperately to keep protectionist policies in place. But it is inevitable that trade and other cross-border dealings will be conducted on a “flat” playing field.

Cheap, ubiquitous telecommunications are making this possible. We will be connected, wherever we may be, via e-mail and SMS.

Rumours, like the recent one concerning the health of the Prime Minister’s wife, spread rapidly. It took a public announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister, and the circulation of a photograph taken in her Los Angeles apartment to reassure the people.

Globalisation is a reality. Connectivity has overcome borders. Global supply chains have meant a redistribution of wealth. Nations must now compete successfully or fall behind.

The global stage demands a new script. At centre stage is the individual, empowered by IT, suddenly able to transcend geography and time through the use of the Internet and mobile phone technology.

But the new script that is being written cannot only consist of random individuals, empowered as they are. Such a story line lacks depth. There must be organisations, institutions, and communities mediating, supporting, and structuring the evolving relationship between the individual and the forces of globalisation.

The 21st century is certain to be a very challenging time for nation-states. The key question for governments is how they can create fertile environments to best nurture citizens and companies who can compete and prosper in the global arena. There is no other option.

How should Malaysia deal with globalisation? How should our civil servants and politicians reposition to create a relevant role for themselves? And how can the government facilitate and equip individual Malaysians and companies to participate on this stage?

On this global stage, there are no longer any purely domestic issues, as domestic policies will determine whether Malaysia boleh.

Historically, the Government’s national development and economic policies have been predicated on wealth redistribution. But Malaysia can no longer afford to continue on this path. We cannot continue to be governed on the basis of policies whose shelf life has expired, not because they were bad, but because they have achieved their goals.

To continue policies based on bangsa is to wrap ourselves in a time warp. It is time to think of us as rakyat or citizens so that we can become stronger and more united against the competition.

The concept of bangsa and rakyat has been interwoven into the Malaysian script. Some policies have emphasised the importance of bangsa. The NEP was a policy based more on the concept of bangsa. The objectives included the development of a bumiputra entrepreneurial class, among other things.

There are also examples of how the Malaysian Government has emphasised the concept of citizenship. The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) is open to all businesses – local and foreign – engaging in the IT business. Companies wishing to seek listing on Mesdaq are not required to follow the 30% share quota for bumiputras as a prerequisite for listing.

Globalisation demands that we de-emphasise bangsa and give great prominence to the concept of rakyat. We must move from selective to universal, from protection to competition, from the group to the individual. All Malaysians must learn to compete because globalisation is an extremely challenging process.

We want Malaysians – regardless of race – to be confident, not averse to taking risks, capable of thinking on their feet, and with the ability to speak two or more languages. Malaysians must become resilient and street-smart.

Therefore, government policies must make this a reality, not just hope. We must celebrate success against odds. We must believe in ourselves. We must conserve our energies to fight the global fight and not fight among ourselves.

In other words, in writing a script for Malaysians to assume a successful role on the global stage, politicians and government officials must have the courage and the vision to be ambassadors for a new paradigm.

They must diminish hindrances to the inflow and outflow of capital. They must eliminate obstacles to companies and institutions in attracting the best people, regardless of race.

Flexibility is the key. On the new global stage, the workforce must not only be well-educated, they must be continually educated. The government role in education will have to change as schooling changes from becoming a process which individuals pass through at a certain early stage of their lives, to becoming a far less centralised, or even institutionalised, process.

The focus must be on preparing each individual, to the best of his or her ability, to find employment in a constantly shifting job market.

Let me elaborate on the concept of rakyat with an example from India.

The Internet-wired the world and massive digital information was carried through fibre optic cables. Bangalore became a suburb of Boston. It became synonymous with Indian IT. Few of us know – or care – which state Bangalore is situated in.

On the global stage, Bangalore is simply identified as Indian. India’s well-known techies, those that populate Silicon Valley, and Boston, and New York and London, seldom use an ethnic label.

We do not know – or care – if they are Bengalis, Tamils, Sindhis, or Punjabis. India has succeeded in branding itself as a country, not according to race, but to citizenship. Perhaps there is a lesson we Malaysians can learn from India.

The Government is rewriting the script for positioning Malaysia on the global stage. Policies are being crafted and legislated, to best facilitate the process. This is a critical moment in our history as a nation. But let us not rush if it means we will fail or falter halfway.

Let us all as individuals or as rakyat be allowed to contribute our thoughts freely to get the best policies which aim to nurture creativity and freedom of thought. Whatever script we may come up with, let it be a Rakyat Malaysia effort.



o Rita Sim is the deputy chairman of Insap or the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research. She can be reached at simsh@tm.net.my