Acara : Sidang media oleh Pengerusi Majlis Penasihat Kerajaan, Tun Daim Zainuddin
Lokasi : Tingkat 40, Element Hotel, KL
Tarikh : 20/8/2018 @ 4.30 pm
PRESS RELEASE
COMPLETION OF MANDATE BY THE COUNCIL OF EMINENT PERSONS
The Council of Eminent Persons (The Council or CEP) today announces that it has completed its mandate, and a report containing recommendations by the Council will be submitted to the Prime Minister, upon his return from China. The Council was set up by the Prime Minister on 12th May 2018, with the objective of advising the Prime Minister on socio-economic and financial matters.
Over the course of the 100-days, the Council had met with over 350 individuals from more than 200 organisations, ranging from regulatory enforcement agencies, bankers, trade associations, chambers of commerce, corporations, SMEs, consumers, producers, retailers, contractors, taxi drivers, hawkers, farmers, activists, artists, NGOs, the disabled community and many other stakeholders.
Tun Daim Zainuddin said, “Our engagements with these stakeholders were crucial to the work of the Council as they enabled us to gather ground level input and issues facing the economy and the Rakyat. We thank them for sharing their views, concerns, and recommendations with us”.
Three key themes shaped the Council’s recommendations and they revolve around the need to improve governance, the well-being of the Rakyat and the need to ensure that the economy is inclusive and sustainable.
Governance and institutional reforms
Being fully aware that economic reform on its own cannot bring the desired change unless accompanied by institutional reforms, the first part of the Council’s recommendation deals with governance issues and institutional reforms. The Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC) was tasked to examine the present state of key institutions and laws and to recommend the necessary reforms. The IRC had received about 1,000 submissions from members of the public, including letters and e-mails. Among others, the recommendations had looked into areas of parliamentary reforms, judiciary appointments, the concentration of executive powers, abolition of oppressive legislation, government agencies reform, human rights laws as well as communications and media.
The recommendations include measures to strengthen the independence of Malaysia’s core institutions and enhance their respective governance framework with the objective to put an end to the era of widespread corruption and abuse of power that has plagued the country.
“Such incidents were made possible due to a breakdown in institutional governance”, explained Tun Daim Zainuddin, “While the Council took cognisance of the weaknesses in the financial condition and the level of poor governance in the government and government agencies, we did not expect the magnitude and severity of the problems to be this grave. None of us thought it would be that pervasive and systemic.”
Inclusitivity
The Council had also looked into ways to address multi-dimensional poverty and imbalances in the society and ways to improve programs and policies that are key to ensuring the well-being of the Rakyat. The recommendations, amongst others, focus on issues related to poverty, inequality, and measures to reduce the cost of living such as housing affordability, fuel subsidy, social protection, the former BR1M, and toll.
“As long as there are marginalised and disadvantaged groups, we must assist them but our intervention must bring a positive impact in the long run. For example, based on the Council’s review, the current over-emphasis on cash handouts do not promote upward social and economic mobility,” observed Tun Daim. “The cash assistance provided is disproportionately large relative to the prevention and skills upgrading initiatives. In addition, it tends to create an aid-dependent culture, particularly among young and single persons”.
The recommendations also looked into the Bumiputera Agenda to become more competitive with the aim of enhancing the socio-economic well being as well as induce positive mindset change amongst the Bumiputera community.
“The Bumiputera Agenda cannot be seen in isolation as it is part of the national agenda. It is not in contradiction to the national agenda of inclusivity and economic well being for all Malaysians. Any programme proposed and developed should not be to the detriment of economic growth nor at the expense of other social groups. We want to get it right this time around,” commented Tun Daim.
“Another new area that the Council is excited about is a recommendation on improving education for our children, who are the future of our nation. And not just for the Bumiputera, but for all Malaysian children”.
Sustainable economic growth and fiscal reforms
The third part of the Council’s recommendations deliberates on how to grow an economy which is inclusive and sustainable. One of the key recommendations include the development of a new framework for investment incentives with the aim to reverse the structural decline of the economy.
“This requires replacing irrelevant existing incentives with new ones that are outcome-based and promote sustainable and inclusive growth,” said Tun Daim.
The Council had looked into matters involving fiscal management of the nation, focusing on the importance of a responsible, effective and sustainable fiscal policy. The fiscal reforms aim to strengthen fiscal discipline and accountability, especially in debt management.
In restoring Malaysia’s fiscal space, the fiscal position and the balance sheet of the Government needs to be improved. Therefore, the report proposes ways to increase revenue, as well as redesigning the tax policy to ensure that it is progressive, fair and balanced. It also looks at ways to optimize expenditures, with emphasis on efficiency and reducing leakages.
Tun Daim stressed that the review and recommendations made by the Council are in no way an overall, or much less, an exhaustive analysis of the many issues facing Malaysia.
He added, “There are no quick-fixes to the problems that the Council has identified and many challenges still lie ahead. The Government and the Rakyat must be ready to make and accept difficult decisions for the long term benefit of the nation.
Tun Daim thanks members of the Secretariat, the IRC, the 1MDB Committee, and the two Task Forces that were formed under the CEP, to assist the Council in carrying out its role. The Council acknowledges the support from institutions such as Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Employees Provident Fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), Sime Darby Property Berhad, UMW Holdings Berhad, and the Economic Planning Unit. The Council also extends its appreciation to the government ministries who had worked alongside the Council on a number of issues.
“Let me put on record that after the formation of a full cabinet, the CEP had worked in consultation with the relevant ministries to obtain their input and feedback wherever necessary,” said Tun Daim, “We thank them for giving us their full co-operation and assistance.”
The Council also thanks YAB Prime Minister for the privilege and honour, and the mandate given to assist the government in creating a better future of Malaysia baharu, and thanks the Rakyat for their patience.
“We wish the Government all the best and we, as the Rakyat, have high hopes that there will be a bright future for us all.”
Issued by:
The Secretariat
Council of Eminent Persons
20 August 2018
For any media enquiries, please contact Syahrom Jumali (+6012 354 3534 /
syahrom@jpm.gov.my) or Nursyahida Abdullah (+6013 363 1090).
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| Dari kiri - 1. Tan Sri Datuk Oh Siew Nam mewakili Tan Sri Robert Kuok, 2. Dato Mah Weng Kwai dan Brig Gen Dato Mohamed Arshad Raji kedua dua nya ahli Institiutional Reforms Committee |
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