Muhyiddin: New growth model needed

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must have a new economic model based on balanced growth and distributive justice to unite Malaysians, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

“A new economic model is not an option for Malaysia but a must. The economic model that we want to develop must satisfy and fulfil the hope of all Malaysians.

“It must unite the different ethnic groups into a cohesive society,” he said when opening the 14th Civil Service Conference here.

Muhyiddin added that the new model should, among other things, make rural development an important part of the national economy, reduce dependence on government assistance, and help redistribute financial assistance through local investment.

He said three more principles should be considered: broad-based development, economic empowerment and bottom-up growth.

Elaborating further, he said policy formulators must rethink rural development.

“This is because rural areas comprise a large percentage of the land area in Malaysia. It represents a large share of the national economy and thus is an economically viable and environmentally feasible component of balanced national development,” he said.

Muhyiddin added that the way to breathe new life into local economies was to increase the vitality of the agriculture sector.

“The rural economy should no longer be taken simply as a means to eradicate rural poverty, but also for its high earnings potential,” he said.

On the principle of economic empowerment, he said the approach should avoid the misguided philosophy of dependence built on differences of education, regional origins, languages, religions, income inequalities or social class that lead families to rely on continuous government assistance.

“The families are trapped in a dependency culture and live a life of non-productive labour. Empowerment aims at expanding economic and socio-economic opportunities supporting individuals and families in becoming enterprising and self-reliant,” he said.

He added that another important instance of broad-based growth was in food production.