New strategies in global competition

Award on merit not quota

The call by Tun Musa Hitam, to abolish the quota system in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) speaks volumes for the wisdom of the veteran politician and a former deputy prime minister.

As someone who had been active in Umno for several decades, Musa’s call should be taken seriously if we really want the IDR to succeed. All Malaysians would agree with him that there was a need to have a change in mindset and deploy new strategies to draw investors to the country.

The younger generation of leaders in particular and Malaysians in general have much to learn and gain from the experiences of Musa and other past leaders and should heed their advice for the betterment of the nation as a whole.

As Musa says foreign investors who came to the country were not interested in the NEP, cronyism or nepotism as their primary focus was on making money and as such we have to create an environment of fair competition where they can compete with us in a system based on merit rather quotas. The best in the country should be allowed to participate in this mammoth development project. Any fear that a particular community would be left behind is unfounded as we have reached a stage where all have acquired adequate skills and knowledge in the fields of technology and commerce.

There is a need to change our business strategies if we want to stay competitive in the world market. If we want to stand a chance against these foreign heavy weights in commerce and technology we have to pull all the resources at our disposal to compete with them. The talents of all Malaysians must be tapped if we want to succeed.

This we can do my eliminating the favoritism in awarding contracts. Measures must be in place to select only the best for this global challenge. These must be made purely on merit based on economic logic not ethnic sentiments.

If we give ourselves the advantage with protective legislation, we will be the only losers in the long run as the foreign investors may opt for more lucrative and even playing grounds elsewhere.Many including our neighbors are ever willing to provide such an environment.

Dr.Chris Anthony