Tough to rekindle disputed ‘Asian Tiger’ tag, says Zaid

 

Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said even Malaysian leaders are not that smart compared with those from the real Tiger economies.

PETALING JAYA: 

A former minister said it would be an uphill task for Malaysia to reclaim its 

Asian Tiger

 status, a label which was earlier today disputed by an Umno stalwart.

In a post on X, Zaid Ibrahim said while Malaysia was not an 

Asian Tiger

 economy – a term used to describe the fast-growing economies of Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong in the 1990s- it was still a 

smallish type of tiger

.

So it’s good that the second finance minister Amir (Hamzah Azizan), reaffirmed the government’s commitment to rekindle the ‘Asian Tiger ‘tag’,

 he said.

He added that the 

Asian Tigers

 share common characteristics, including a highly educated populace, a sharp focus on exports and a high savings rate.

According to Zaid, producing an educated populace is the most challenging part for Malaysia if it wished to be considered an Asian Tiger.

Even our leaders are not that smart compared with the real Tiger economies. The reason is plain to see, but we will not change our education system and policies.

Earlier today, Amir said the positive outlook from analysts and rating agencies, supported by encouraging economic figures, signals that Malaysia is making great strides to reclaim its Asian Tiger status.

To reclaim the Asian Tiger status is not a pipe dream. The government and I are very confident that we can achieve this,

 he was quoted as saying.

This morning, FMT reported Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as saying that Malaysia was never an 

Asian Tiger

 contrary to a claim by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Tengku Razaleigh, a former finance minister, said Malaysia could not stake a claim to being an Asian Tiger as the country had self-funded most of its projects, including dams and highways, because foreign investors had skirted around Malaysia. He also cautioned against giving in to illusions of grandeur.

Malaysia was once tipped to be the fifth 

Asian Tiger

 but the country’s economic growth was derailed by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Zaid went on to say that he saw claims that Malaysia never had a 

Tiger economy

 as an effort to ignore Mahathir’s outstanding contribution to the country’s development. - FMT