Ku Li proposes Amanah Plan for all segments of society

An equitable development of the nation's wealth and prosperity that will guarantee a stake for all segments of Malaysian society. This is what former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah wants to see taking place over the next 10 years.

Calling it the National Stakeholders' Economic Action Plan, or Amanah Plan, Tengku Razaleigh said under equitable sharing benefits, the development for all stakeholders and for the future generations would be protected under the federal constitution.

"This road map will pave the country's way forward. It will be definitive in our effort to unite all races, to ensure prosperity for all, and to achieve a shared destiny for our country," he said in his speech at an Economic Roundtable talk at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies today.

A stakeholder's economy, the Kelantan prince said, is where the education, health, employment and business opportunities are available to all and advancements are made on merit in conjunction with the criteria of uplifting poor and marginalised groups.

The Gua Musang MP, who is widely known as Ku Li, described Malaysia as a complex society as the country was multi-cultural and multi-religious.

"Ironically, we have to take the fight for the welfare of the majority, while protecting the rights of the minorities in Malaysia, outside the New Economic Policy (NEP). We need to address the social contract frontally, reaffirm the federal constitution and set the NEP into remission.

Ku Li further explained what he foresees as a stakeholder economy:

• A welfare system that ensures security and opportunity for all segments of society, rich and poor;
• An education system for all the people and not just for the elites;
• A knowledge-based economy that embraces new technology and new knowledge;
• A relationship of trust between government and business, and similarly, between business and workers;
• A nation of smallholders and small businesses and self-employment collectively contributing to national wealth; and
• A system of fair and just laws to protect the sanctity of state institutions, the rights of the minorities and the legitimate interests of civil society.

Improving state-federal relations
Ku Li said the Amanah initiative would promote good governance, transparency of policies and eliminate corruption and wastage and strive to promote sustainable growth through macroeconomic balance.

It would also strive, he said, for a new balance in federal-state fiscal relations, which would lead to greater empowerment of the state governments and this would help enhance productivity.

"The formulation and implementation of the Amanah Plan must be carried out within the ambit of and be consistent with the federal constitution, which represents the written social contract among the
peoples of the federation," Ku Li, said adding that the judiciary should also reform to ensure protection of the Malaysian social contract and human rights through the rule of law.

Importantly, the Amanah Plan would ensure a fair and equitable distribution that benefits national growth among all ethnic groups, genders, regions and minorities, in order to reestablish trust and confidence in the government as the protector and implementer of the people's mandate.

Four major components
The Gua Musang MP further outlined four strategic components to the Amanah programme that includes an Accelerated Infrastructure Development Strategy, a Human Capital Development Strategy, an Agriculture and Industry Growth Strategy and a Comprehensive Islamic Financial Strategy.

For infrastructure, he proposed that the national high speed railway should not be limited to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore but from north to south and also to the east coast. The Pan-Borneo Highway will open up new areas, as what the North-South Expressway did.

For accelerated infrastructure development, Tengku Razaleigh proposed strategic groupings for the formation of small- and medium-scale industries or cooperatives to contribute to economic development.

For the area of human capital development, he hopes to see a re-engineering of secondary and tertiary education that will take global competition into consideration.

Ku Li noted that the Amanah Plan would require huge financing and he proposed public and private sector partnership programmes and foreign investments as some of the initiatives.