The World Bank: Malaysia lacks Talent
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
November 22, 2011
The World Bank: Malaysia lacks Talent
A World Bank report said today that Malaysia is at risk of developing two sides to its economy as its investment incentives shine but its internal talent lags behind.
This comes as Malaysia rose five spots this year to 18th in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index and was also ranked 21st most-competitive country by the World Economic Forum.
The World Bank report noted that Malaysia greatest advantage is its low-cost base and not its skills which are close to the levels seen in low-income countries.
“Malaysia is a very competitive country in the sense that it can provide businesses with an attractive package with which to compete in global markets,” said the report, noting that the package included infrastructure, regulations, fiscal incentives and political stability.
It added however that Malaysia could realise larger gains by tackling structural reforms to increase competition and competencies in the economy rather than improving the business environment.
The report said the Global Locations Index prepared by global consulting firm A.T. Kearney, which ranked Malaysia third out of 50 countries for offshoring and outsourcing services, revealed “reasons for concern rather than encouragement.”
“What emerges from analysing this index is that Malaysia ranks highly because its business 
environment, while not at the level of advanced economies, compares very favourably against lower-income countries, while labour costs remain much closer to lower-income countries than advanced economies,” said the World Bank. “Malaysia’s performance in skills is its weak point.”
The report also noted a “worrisome” trend of an increasing gap between the University of Malaya (UM) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), Southeast Asia’s leading university.
“The gap between UM and NUS has been high and generally increasing, especially in the sciences,” said the report.
“There is a need to improve the performance of outcomes of universities,” the World Bank’s senior country economist for Malaysia, Frederico Gil Sander (above), told The Malaysian Insider in an interview.
Sander also said that the country needed to put structural reforms as recommended by the New Economic Model (NEM) on the “front burner” with the implementation of projects.
“The strategic reform initiatives need to be implemented in parallel and with the same intensity,” he said.
Since taking office in 2009, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has initiated a reform agenda which included a government and economic transformation programme to be driven by the special purpose performance management unit Pemandu.
Critics say that the lack of radical reforms so far however effectively amounted to policy tinkering that would deliver only lacklustre results. UMNO veteran and former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah(left) said earlier this month that Najib’s reforms appeared to be coming in “dribs and drabs”.
Some analysts say however that the Prime Minister is constrained by hardliners in his party who would be opposed to widespread economic reforms that could threaten the rice bowls of politically-connected businessmen.
It is not that Malaysia lacks talent. Because we have a crony system in place, real talent has been allowed to fallow or they are cut off from the system. Kaki ampus are welcome because lacking in self confidence, our leaders need to constantly told how great they are. Truth is manufactured so that they are denied the opportunity to deal with facts.
Furthermore, we seem to put too much faith in young Malaysian Ivy graduates who have no experience to advice on policy or run our corporations. Fix our climate so that talent can spring up and survive. If our environment fails to nurture talent, Talent Corporation will fail. Other comments on this point are welcome.–Din Merican
dinobeano - November 22, 2011 at 9:20 am
What Najib has produced is ‘agenda’. And this is being resisted by strong vested interests from within his own party. Crony capitalism has roots that went back some three decades and is here to stay.
Malaysia’s talent has long been on the road and has gone off-shore where it is able to find a home.
Mr Bean - November 22, 2011 at 10:09 am
So the bank wants the Malaysian government to do what? The government can’t even ask their scholars to go back and they can’t even properly educate the ones back home. The best part is that these ungrateful scholars can proudly brag to MSD officers or embassy officers about their successes overseas without fear of retribution. How’s Najib talent corp going anyway? Masuk longkang already?
didi - November 22, 2011 at 11:41 am
The only way for the Malaysian talents to shine is to get rid of the present government that practices nepotism, cronyism and mediocrity. Otherwise the remaining Malaysian talents will leave Bodohland just like their predecessors.
mickie - November 22, 2011 at 1:40 pm
No surprise!!
Malaysia is the only country in the world where the majority of it race is protected by laws with privileges; critical areas like human resources, training, developments and policies are focusing and favoring MALAY BUMI while Chinese and Indian minority who contributes greatly to the economy is neglected leaving them to fence their own!!
rightways - November 22, 2011 at 4:12 pm
correction: …majority of itS race…
rightways - November 22, 2011 at 4:13 pm
…short of talent, did you say?
Tell that to those who populate our cabinet and the GLCs and their friends and families. They are bursting with talent.
How else do you get cows to live in condos, and treat rebates as income. Or divert public money into channels that benefit all except the people. You think it’s easy day in and day out to plot and scheme and come up with novel ways to relieve the nation of its wealth?
And get away with it.
Even the terribly cunning mideasterners lose out. See how Mubarak fell, and Quadhaffi and his son, and soon Assad. So many thieves and despots have bitten the dirt. Bolehlanders have somehow remained untouched.
You think that’s not talent? I tell you Malaysia’s got Talent.
The WB is, as usual, talking thru its hat. We should ask for our money back.
Mr Bojangles - November 22, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Malaysia is not short of talents, plenty!!
Short because of corrupt practices and policies!!!!!
rightways - November 22, 2011 at 5:04 pm
agreed the present goverment is complecent , too long in power , lost their ways , good to try new goverment……perhaps some impovement can be achieved, nothing personal or partisan , only been practical…….and pracmatic….
kusoh - November 22, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Talent Corporation, mana pergi? Stole talents of gold.
That’s why Malaysians are only good at banking and bonking. We will sing for a song and dance though. See how we are trying to attract FDI’s? It’s not only the Feds, but also the Opposition States, who are blowing their Horn! Meanwhile, none are willing to commit full-heartedly and unconditionally to improve the laziness and corrupt mentality of our old and young! Notice the amount of plagiarism on this thread.
So what’s new?
Therefore i say to CEO, TC: “Just tutup kedai lah, and leave us to our misery. It’s not that you will respond anyway, like our foot-in-the-golden-mouth PM, who’s disappeared again.”
C.L. Familaris - November 22, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Ya, tutup TC.
rightways - November 22, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Sometimes you can change you fortune by just making minnor changes to your policies. That is what the World Bank should be telling Third World governments instead of spending money on consultants to produce reports that no one reads. And even if they do they do not buy it. Your report is similar to what partents tell their children. ” Do well in class and get good results” without telling them the ways and means to get that good results.
Anonymous - November 22, 2011 at 9:16 pm
The elephant in the room on loss of talent mainly nonmalays who left the country…. Blame it on the racist UMNO implementation of winners-take-all policy of NEP.
The key culprits are the little naploeons (Malay bureaucrats ) in PSD, EPU, Treasury and all the KSUs of Ministries who made life difficult for the more talented nonMalay citizens to have a fair-go to pursue their career without feeling discriminated for jobs, promotion and opportunities as Mlaysians. The NEP was to help the Malays and bumiputras without cutting off the limbs of nonMalysia.
Over the last 40 years especially during the Mahathir regimes, positive discrimination for the Malays and bumiputras was conducted at the expense of the opportunities of the nonMalays. That is a fact even UMNO leaders cannot deny.
Many talk about the symptoms but shy away from fscing the naked truth. It is not so much the policy of NEP, but the disgusting racist approach to the implementation of NEP by the little napoleons in the civil service with silent approval of the UMNO-led cabinet voted in very 5 years by the Chinese lapdogs in MCA , the murukku beggars in MIC and the castrated Chinese in Gerakan.
Frank - November 23, 2011 at 3:57 am
Frankly , the International Tribune in 1975, I cannot recall the actual edition, stated that Malaysia was trying to run the country using not even 25% of the God given resources to us.
Anonymous - November 23, 2011 at 10:53 am
PS. The NEP may not be able to build a strong, stable and sustainable economy. But I am absolutely confident that a strong, stable and sustainable economy will be more than able to build, sustain and strengthen NEP to whatever strength our leaders want it to be.
Anonymous - November 23, 2011 at 10:58 am
frank, I agree with you that it si the application of policies that are out of hand by those wishing to “protect the malays”.
I want to ask you a direct question and I want the truth for an answer. What would it be like for malays if the Government is non malay majority and if the scenario is all non malays who are in top jobs top positions top governance. What would it be actually .like for us malays is my question and pls be brutally honest with me.
Kathy - November 24, 2011 at 7:27 am
your statement that M’sians of non malay origins are leaving even though they are clever and talented also worries me because there are M’sians of malay origins who are quite talented and clever out there in this world who dont want to go home because their critical thinking and non conformist personalities are not accepted back home and are seen as against the malays and the religion.
Kathy - November 24, 2011 at 7:32 am
There is a growing Malay community living in Ireland and I am sure already in Australia and the U.K.
Is the Malaysian government too concerned ? I don’t think so. They will just let in more Muslim immigrants from all over the place who are more “grateful” of what the government can offer them.
ocho onda - November 24, 2011 at 6:56 pm