FRI, 24 SEP 2010 10:43
Free Malaysia Today
By Nurul Izzah Anwar
COMMENT As a follow up to my 15 questions on ETP, I have now discovered that the manner of how the GNI annual growth rate presented was misleading.
It was publicly announced that the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) will only provide 74% or RM1.258 trillion of the estimated RM 1.7 trillion GNI in 2020 against our RM660 billion GNI for 2010 which required the quoted 6% annual growth rate.
However, in reality Malaysia as a whole, when ETP plus non-ETP contributions are calculated for the 10 years needed, it would indicate that it should have been disclosed that we need a 9% per annum growth rate to achieve the RM1.7 trillion GNI in 2020.
Furthermore, at the 21st Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia Implementation Council meeting held on Nov 9, 2009, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that Malaysia was aiming for a 9% annual GDP growth until 2020.
In his opening speech Prime Minister Najib said:
“We aim to be a developed nation by the year 2020 and we are looking to more than double our per capita gross national income from US$7,000 (RM24,500) to at least US$17,000 by then in order to qualify as a high-income nation according to World Bank classifications.
“This would also mean that Malaysia has to grow its GDP by over nine 9% annually until the year 2020.”
However, in what has become the Prime Minister’s flip-flop approach to national matters, he had hours later in a press conference denied having said 9%. He said: “I did not say nine percent, I said around six percent as nine is not realistic.”
So why hide the whole real number and mislead an entire nation?
Not another Pinocchio
What about other official statistics- CPI, NKRAs, PLI- are they reliable? The rakyat and foreign investors must have confidence in our official data.
Wouldn’t any manipulation be seen as fraudulent, misleading and unacceptable?
I call upon the government to set the matter straight and immediately announce if Malaysia actually needs a 9% annual growth rate to achieve the RM 1.7 trillion GNI target in 2020.
How can this be achieved when the world economy and our competitiveness are equally in decline?
How does this indicate on the viability of the ETP just recently announced?
The people deserve to know, especially with the upcoming budget announcement to be made in Parliament in October, so as to not to be seen as misleading that will have a profound negative impact on not only public confidence but also on international confidence on our data integrity in light of our more than 80% decline in FDI.
We need to know the facts and the truth now even if the prime minister is still in New York supposedly to tell the ‘truth’ to the world on Malaysia’s New Economic Model and 1Malaysia concept, witnessed by our ‘First Lady’.
I hope that this explosive revelation which could submerge us is proven wrong for the sake of our nation’s credibility and world standing, especially in front of the United Nations General Assembly and the US president.
I hope this is an honest mistake not based on APCO’s professional communication advice.
We do not need another Pinocchio to lead our ever sinking nation.
Nurul Izzah Anwar is PKR’s MP for Lembah Pantai.
