In our Selected Exhortations category, we republish interesting stuff such as must-read articles and essays not originally written exclusively for the blawg, and which have come to our attention. Please feel free to email [email protected] if you would like to reproduce your writing, but first follow our Writer’s Guide here.
The uphill journey of economic transformation is looking even steeper, with the private sector share of investments in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) slipping far below target.
The ETP targets the private sector to provide 60% of the investments required to take Malaysia to high-income status by 2020. However, private sector participation makes up only 35% of the total investments in EPPs (Entry Point Projects) so far.
PEMANDU explained that private sector investments are closer to the targeted 60 percent share if large public sector projects like the MRT are excluded. This is inappropriate, as the ETP Roadmap Report trumpets such projects in its desired investment mix.
REFSA considers it understandable that priority is given to government-led, big-ticket infrastructure project in the early days of the ETP. However, PEMANDU’s decision to obfuscate rather than clarify draws suspicion that something is amiss.
Read our Critique of the ETP (Part 4) as we debunk PEMANDU’s justification for the shortfall in private sector investment with a simple cake analogy and some telling numbers.