Seperti sesetengah daripada anda telah maklum, saya baru saja pulang dari lawatan yang sangat berhasil di New York dan Brussels yang mana saya telah menyertai beberapa perbincangan penting dengan para pemimpin dunia juga dengan masyarakat perniagaan. Di AS, saya telah berucap di sesi ke-65 Perhimpunan Agung Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu (“UNGA”) dan Sidang Kemuncak  AS-ASEAN. Tidak lama selepas pulang ke tanah air,  saya berlepas pula ke Belgium untuk menghadiri Sidang Kemuncak Ketua-Ketua Negara dan Kerajaan Asia-Eropah  (“ASEM 8“).

Di UNGA, saya telah menyuarakan tentang tanggapan semasa dunia terhadap Islam, satu tajuk yang sering saya bangkitkan apabila berucap kepada rakyat Malaysia. Saya telah berkongsi dengan mereka yang hadir bahawa kesederhanaan adalah sebahagian daripada amalan utama Islam dan melaluinya kita berupaya memupuk kefahaman yang lebih baik di kalangan masyarakat Islam dengan masyarakat lain di dunia. Semasa menyampaikan ucapan Hari Raya dan perayaan Hari Malaysia kepada negara beberapa minggu yang lalu, saya telah berkongsi dengan anda semua bagaimana wasatiyyah -  pertengahan, atau maksud terhampirnya, kesederhanaan – boleh memainkan peranan dalam pembinaan negara seperti Malaysia. Wasatiyyah merupakan tonggak utama amalan keadilan bersama di dalam Islam dan negara kita telah sekian lama mengamalkannya dalam menguruskan masyarakat majmuk. Untuk sekian lama, kita telah meraih manfaat daripadanya.

Saya telah menegaskan sungguhpun terdapat usaha-usaha yang semakin meningkat  untuk mengekalkan Islamofobia, ia adalah satu kebimbangan yang nyata, dan satu penyelesaian diperlukan untuk membendung suara-suara tidak beradab golongan pelampau yang tidak penting ini tanpa mengira apa pun agama mereka.  Justeru itu, saya menyeru semua: menubuhkan “Gerakan Golongan Sederhana Peringkat Dunia” yang melibatkan semua kepercayaan agama untuk menyangkal golongan pelampau hari ini.  Berulang-ulang kali telah saya katakan bahawa kita, golongan sederhana, mesti berupaya memainkan peranan penting semula di dunia – suara kesederhanaan kita mesti didengari. Gerakan sedemikian akan menegakkan semula agenda untuk keamanan dan pragmatisme di dunia hari ini.

Sebagai panduan, saya menawarkan Malaysia untuk dijadikan contoh sebuah negara berbilang bangsa, berbilang budaya dan sebuah negara demokrasi yang berjaya. Kita boleh berbangga kerana walaupun landskap dunia sedang memperlihatkan kehancuran sikap toleransi, negara kita tetap aman dan saling bertoleransi, yang mana rumah-rumah ibadat boleh wujud bersama dengan diawasi oleh Perlembagaan, dan kepelbagaian kebudayaan disambut bersama lebih daripada dihindari, sebagaimana yang disarankan oleh Islam. Semua ini, begitu juga dengan wawasan 1Malaysia yang bertujuan memupuk Malaysia yang lebih kukuh melalui kepelbagaian kita, akan membolehkan kita memainkan peranan sebagai pembimbing untuk membantu membina sebuah dunia yang lebih harmoni.

Saya juga telah mengambil  peluang untuk terus berkongsi konsep ini semasa menyuarakan tentang isu-isu seperti integrasi ekonomi dan kewangan di Mesyuarat ASEM Ke-8 yang dianjurkan di kalangan 47 negara peserta di Brussels pada 4 – 5. Oktober. Sekali lagi, gagasan ini telah diterima dengan baik di kalangan para pemimpin negara lain dan telah diungkapkan dalam catatan penutup Presiden KE. Berdasarkan respons mereka, saya percaya rakyat Malaysia sewajarnya berbangga kerana model perpaduan melalui kepelbagaian kita disanjung oleh negara lain.

Apakah pandangan anda tentang bagaimana untuk mengetepikan golongan pelampau ini? Adakah anda merasakan prinsip-prinsip 1Malaysia boleh diaplikasikan dengan jayanya di peringkat antarabangsa?

Over the years the Government has always considered ways to combine the top brainpower from the public and private sectors in exploring strategies to stimulate higher economic growth. We have had numerous initiatives carried out like this but never one on a level such as currently executed for the National Key Economic Area or NKEA labs. Then you can understand why I was extremely gratified that this effort is yielding promising results so far.

That a collaboration of this scale has been realised is a momentous occasion in our country’s history, and I shared that fact with the participants during my visit last week for a halfway-point briefing and status report. I have been informed that, thanks to the public-private partnerships in the labs, a total of 118 entry point projects and 35 business opportunities have been identified. With a possible combined investment value of about US$155 billion – roughly 66% of the targeted amount of US$240 billion for the next 10 years – these projects and business opportunities, together with their multiplier effects, have the potential to generate a sum of US$584 billion in Gross National Income between now and the year 2020. Of course, there is still plenty of work to do; in the remaining few weeks of these NKEA labs, the participants are expected to ascertain more EPPs and business opportunities with an additional US$80 billion investment value.

We are steadily moving into an era where economic growth is spurred by the private sector and where the government underpins its primary role in implementing public policies that encourage this growth. The private sector will be the engine of growth of our nation moving forward and the Government is serious in looking into ways to make Mlaysia more business friendly. This is how I envisioned public-private partnerships to develop in this nation: together, as One Team Malaysia. This exercise indicates that we have the means and the will to make a quantum leap to become a fully developed high-income nation in 10 years’ time.

In August, similar to the NKRA development process, the government will host an Open Day for the public to learn more about the NKEA initiatives and share their feedback. Following this, we will immediately set up the proper implementation mechanism to ensure our projected investment and GNI targets will be met. As I assured the participants at the lab, I also assure all Malaysians that we will build on this momentum, and that the government is deeply committed to make this massive transformation happen, imbued with the spirit of 1Malaysia.

In the current poll on my blogsite, I invite my readers to name their academic qualification achieved when entering the workforce (you can vote here): Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or lower; Diploma; Undergraduate degree; and Postgraduate degree.

Early results suggest that most respondents possess an SPM or lower, with those holding an undergraduate degree emerging in second place. Although this sample is not completely representative of the population, it has somewhat mirrored by the Statistics Department findings, showing that 77 percent of the Malaysian working population (or 60 percent of the entire nation) entered the workforce with up to SPM qualifications or equivalent in 2007 (see NEAC’s NEM for Malaysia report).

This is a considerable statistic that suggests a great opportunity to me: an opportunity to motivate and develop our workers further to spur the growth that we need.  I’m proud of our workforce but, as I cautioned when introducing the New Economic Model, having one largely equipped with an SPM Certificate alone is not in line with our aspirations to become a high-income economy.

The solution, as I see it, must be a reskilled labour force, so that all Malaysians (and not just school leavers) are armed with the right knowledge to meet employers’ needs. This can be achieved through providing on-the-job training and offering continuing education programmes.

Employers also have a responsibility towards this solution. I would like to see more companies offer apprenticeship programmes that can provide ‘shop-floor training’ for fresh graduates as well as employees. There must be a conscientious effort within the business community to upscale all aspects of operations and management, including the development of a value-added workforce. By doing so, as a nation, we will be able to generate higher-quality output using higher-skilled local human resources, in line with our goal to become a high-income nation.

Education must not end at school or university, therefore, but persist throughout one’s working life, and I would strongly encourage all my working-age readers to take up opportunities for ongoing self-development. As a rule of thumb, I would like to urge those who were unfortunate not to make the cut into colleges /universities or the equivalent, to continue seeking knowledge. I strongly encourage all Malaysians to find ways to enrol themselves into more practical education channels such as vocational schools and polytechnics. Let us not limit our education level at only SPM certificate level.

Now that I have shared my viewpoint with you, please have your say by submitting a comment. Would the prospect of further training or education generally create enough interest? What would deter you from pursuing continuous professional development?