The initial 131 projects and 60 business opportunities worth US$444 billion are part of Malaysia's Economic Transformation Programme
The Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) under the Prime Minister's Department will reveal on September 21 details of the initial 131 projects and 60 business opportunities worth US$444 billion (RM1.39 trillion) to be implemented over the next 10 years.
These are part of the federal government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to ensure that the country's gross national product (GNP) and per capita income increases to US$523 billion (RM1.63 trillion) and US$15,000 (RM46,800) respectively by 2020 to meet the World Bank's definition of a high-income nation.
"The 131 project details will be revealed to the public at the ETP Open Day on September 21 at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur," Pemandu chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala said at a senior editors' briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Similar events will be held on October 4 at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Kuching and on October 7 at Magellan Sutera Harbour Hotel in Kota Kinabalu.
"The purpose of the open day is to get feedback. If there's public opposition to the projects, we will hear them out and take into account their suggestions. That's why we will only release the ETP document at end-October. The idea is to incorporate the public's views," said Idris.
The 131 projects or entry point projects (EPPs) and 60 business opportunities were identified through a series of 12 National Key Economic Areas laboratories (labs) held from June 1 to July 30 this year, which involved over 500 participants from the private and public sectors.
These initiatives are forecast to create up to 3.3 million jobs by 2020, out of which 63 per cent will be in the middle- and high-income segment compared with 43 per cent currently.
Idris said he was "quite confident" that 92 per cent of the EPPs would be funded by the private sector, while public funding would be limited to the rest.
"Based on our discussions with participants of the labs, the private sector is prepared to sign a contract to embark on seven of the 131 EPPs now, to sign a memorandum of understanding on another 12 EPPs, while over 30 EPPs have garnered strong interest from the private sector to invest in.
"This is a good start, considering that it's only been two months of exploratory discussions," he said, adding that the 131 EPPs are just some to start off with.
OSK Research Sdn Bhd head Chris Eng believes that the ETP is a good programme as it provides key actions and targets, and is not just a high-level plan.
"(Nevertheless,) there will still be public and certain segments of opposition towards some of the EPPs. Also, as input has so far largely been sought from experts within the industry, some of the EPPs may be more of a wish list by these parties, and some of it may not be achievable when the views of the greater public or broader marketplace are taken into consideration," he told Business Times.
UOB Kay Hian (Malaysia) Holdings Sdn Bhd research director Vincent Khoo deemed the ETP and the EPPs as "sensible and progressive".
"We like the projects presented at today's (Wednesday) briefing and hope for smooth implementation," he said.
"However, we would also like to see educational reforms being introduced as it is tightly linked to a country's economic progress. This is not being addressed in the ETP."
These are part of the federal government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to ensure that the country's gross national product (GNP) and per capita income increases to US$523 billion (RM1.63 trillion) and US$15,000 (RM46,800) respectively by 2020 to meet the World Bank's definition of a high-income nation.
"The 131 project details will be revealed to the public at the ETP Open Day on September 21 at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur," Pemandu chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala said at a senior editors' briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Similar events will be held on October 4 at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Kuching and on October 7 at Magellan Sutera Harbour Hotel in Kota Kinabalu.
The 131 projects or entry point projects (EPPs) and 60 business opportunities were identified through a series of 12 National Key Economic Areas laboratories (labs) held from June 1 to July 30 this year, which involved over 500 participants from the private and public sectors.
These initiatives are forecast to create up to 3.3 million jobs by 2020, out of which 63 per cent will be in the middle- and high-income segment compared with 43 per cent currently.
Idris said he was "quite confident" that 92 per cent of the EPPs would be funded by the private sector, while public funding would be limited to the rest.
"Based on our discussions with participants of the labs, the private sector is prepared to sign a contract to embark on seven of the 131 EPPs now, to sign a memorandum of understanding on another 12 EPPs, while over 30 EPPs have garnered strong interest from the private sector to invest in.
"This is a good start, considering that it's only been two months of exploratory discussions," he said, adding that the 131 EPPs are just some to start off with.
OSK Research Sdn Bhd head Chris Eng believes that the ETP is a good programme as it provides key actions and targets, and is not just a high-level plan.
"(Nevertheless,) there will still be public and certain segments of opposition towards some of the EPPs. Also, as input has so far largely been sought from experts within the industry, some of the EPPs may be more of a wish list by these parties, and some of it may not be achievable when the views of the greater public or broader marketplace are taken into consideration," he told Business Times.
UOB Kay Hian (Malaysia) Holdings Sdn Bhd research director Vincent Khoo deemed the ETP and the EPPs as "sensible and progressive".
"We like the projects presented at today's (Wednesday) briefing and hope for smooth implementation," he said.
"However, we would also like to see educational reforms being introduced as it is tightly linked to a country's economic progress. This is not being addressed in the ETP."
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