Malaysian studies Essay

MALAYSIAN:THE WAY FORWARD(VISION 2020)

Name: Michael Francis

Student ID:110030849 Lecturer: Miss Hidayah

The article entitled Malaysian:The Way Forward(Vision 2020) which is written by the honourable Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad is a very informative,interesting and educational article.I shall begin my essay by making a summary of the article.Basically,the article explains the future of Malaysia and how to develop Malaysia into an industrialised, fully developed country by the year 2020.This development must not only be confined to an economical dimension, but it must encompass political,social,spiritual,psychological and cultural dimensions as well. To become a fully-developed nation,Malaysia has to overcome the nine central strategic challenges.The first is the challenge of creating a Malaysian nation that is dedicated and united both ethnically and racially. The second is the challenge of creating a Malaysian society with belief, faith and confidence in itself.Psychologically,our society must also be liberated and respected in the eyes of other nations.The third is the challenge of developing a democratic society that is mature and community-orientated. The fourth is the challenge of establishing a society with the highest moral and ethical standards,accompanied with strong spirituality.The fifth is the challenge of creating and maintaining an armospthere of peace,unity and tolerance in our Malaysian society. The sixth is the challenge of establishing an innovative,creative,progressive and scientific society that will contribute to the technological advancements of the future. The

seventh is the challenge of nurturing and creating a caring society that emphasizes the welfare of others.The eighth is the challenge of establishing a society that is economically-just. The wealth of the nation must be distributed equally and fairly. There should be no identification of economic function and backwardness with race.Finally,the ninth challenge is establishing a successful, prosperous nation that is competitive. Besides that ,Malaysia will depend on the private sector as the main catalyst of economic growth.The government must reduce its involvement in the field of economic business,to give way for the private sector.However the government will continue to provide legal framework for rapid economic development. Privatisation will remain vital to the national development and efficiency strategy.When the Privatisation Master Plan Study is completed,all of the problems that halt the progress of the privatisation will be removed. Moreover, there has to be more rapid and adequate development of indigenous technology. Rising production costs have to be countered by improving efficiency and productivity. Small and medium scale industries play an important role. Diversity is very important in terms of products that we export. On-traditional markets have to be explored. On the other hand, the bumiputeras must not be neglected in the development of human resources. This is because no nation can fully excel with only half its human resources harnessed.Therefore,the Bumiputeras have to actively participate in the race towards achieving the goals of vision 2020. The private sector must be aware of their social responsibility and not just focus on increasing their personal profit. Our entrepreneurs must support The Accelerated Industrialisation Drive. Foreign

investors have to be engaged by the private sector also so that they will integrate more fully into the Malaysian economy. My review and opinion in this is positive. I personally feel that it is extremely important to take all the necessary measures and actions to achieve the vision 2020 goal. All of the nine challenges seem to be audacious and tough, but if the government, private sector and people work together it can be overcome.Economically,our country has potential and a bright future.However,I feel that in terms of our local traditional businesses, there is still much room for improvement. Justice is also vital in Malaysian economy because bribery, cheating and frauds will only be detrimental to our economic progress. Definitely, the fifth national challenge is the something that we have all been struggling with for years. Unity is the bridge between people; it has the power to close the fissures that separate businesses, enterprises and companies. Therefore, we must all strive to create and encourage a harmonious environment that will lead to a peaceful society. Once this is done, our country will be free from any barriers that are halting its progress. As a conclusion,it is never easy to lead a nation towards the path of full industrialisation and development,however I believe in the old malay saying sikit sikit lama jadi bukit(slowly but surely).In time,I strongly believe that the vision 2020 will become a reality.