By Dr Tarcisius Chin                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
OUR nation is at the crossroads. We are no longer                                                                                                     
underdeveloped, but developing rapidly and confidently as a                                                                                           
society admired and respected for our economic achievements.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Very credible economic performance for nearly a decade has                                                                                            
prompted the United States to remove our GSP status and for                                                                                           
international bodies to rank us high for our competitiveness                                                                                          
and export performance.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
A recent phenomenon is our recognised and acknowledged                                                                                                
position as an enviable model for South countries. Developing                                                                                         
countries from Asia, Africa, Oceania and South America are                                                                                            
beginning to look look to us for inspiration and help in                                                                                              
managing their own development.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
While we have had several trade missions overseas, the number                                                                                         
and frequency of high level missions from the developing world                                                                                        
to Kuala Lumpur is quite remarkable. Hardly a fortnight passes                                                                                        
without a foreign head of state or senior ministers meeting                                                                                           
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad or Deputy Prime                                                                                         
Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
For 30 years of our nationhood we have been a net receiver of                                                                                         
foreign help. We are now fast becoming a donor to the less                                                                                            
developed world through technical support, investments and                                                                                            
scholarships.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
We have bridged Africa and Latin America through MAS flights                                                                                          
to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Buenos Aires.  We are the lead                                                                                         
nation in the development of the Mekong Delta.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Measat has made it possible to have independent satellite                                                                                             
communication, and our proposed multimedia super-corridor will                                                                                        
give us the quantum leap into the future. We have done much                                                                                           
over the last few years; we can do more.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
The human tendency is to think first in terms of hardware.                                                                                            
Whether it was the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of                                                                                            
wartorn Europe, the International Bank for Reconstruction and                                                                                         
Development for financial support for the developing world or                                                                                         
the Asian Development Bank for soft loans for projects of                                                                                             
developing Asia, the belief is that we can best help another                                                                                          
country prosper through financial resources.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Another form of assistance has been- through funding                                                                                                  
scholarships for students from poorer countries.  Malaysia has                                                                                        
for many years been the beneficiary of the Colombo Plan and                                                                                           
Commonwealth scholarships and, indeed, a large proportion of                                                                                          
our best minds have been recipients of these fantastic                                                                                                
opportunities.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The lasting goodwill and recip rocal relationships have                                                                                               
nurtured and strengthened bonds of friendship across the                                                                                              
world.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
A third area of international support moves into the software                                                                                         
arena. Little known but quietly assisting enterprise                                                                                                  
development in many parts of the developing world are the                                                                                             
volunteer executive service organisations of the more                                                                                                 
developed economies.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Initiated by the Kennedy administration of the US in the early                                                                                        
60s and copied by Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, France,                                                                                           
Japan and several other developed countries, experienced                                                                                              
businessmen and professionals volunteer their service to                                                                                              
organisations in the developing world for no fee.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
An active volunteer executive organisation that has been                                                                                              
operating in Malaysia for nearly 30 years is the Canadian                                                                                             
Executive Service Organisation (Ceso), which is represented by                                                                                        
the Malaysian Institute of Management.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Through Ceso, many Malaysian public and private enterprises                                                                                           
have accessed the services of a volunteer consultant for                                                                                              
periods of up to six months in technical or managerial fields.                                                                                        
A large proportion of the consultants have recently retired                                                                                           
and volunteer their expertise in the cause of service to the                                                                                          
developing world.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
As Malaysia is increasingly positioned to provide assistance                                                                                          
to less developed countries, it is timely to consider                                                                                                 
extending our contributions to the soft side of assistance                                                                                            
equation.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
When the Fijian Prime Minister pledge to send a rugby coach to                                                                                        
Malaysia in a recent visit to Kuala Lumpur,he was                                                                                                     
instinctively echoing President Kennedy's missionary quest of                                                                                         
helping our neighbour in the best way we know - by extending                                                                                          
our knowledge, skills and expertise through direct personal                                                                                           
involvement.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The circumstances for creating a Malaysian Executive Service                                                                                          
Organisation (Meso) are right. Many less-developed countries                                                                                          
are looking to us for help.  We have expertise in the fields                                                                                          
of agriculture, commodities, mining, large-scale plantations,                                                                                         
housing, highway construction, telecommunications, resorts and                                                                                        
education.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Our retirement age is low relative to our life expectancy. We                                                                                         
are part of the global economy and our senior people are                                                                                              
welltravelled and adaptable.  We even have a senior citizens                                                                                          
group which, I believe, is ready for such a challenge, but no                                                                                         
formal opportunity has been created to tap the enormous range                                                                                         
of skills that can be donated to deserving enterprises across                                                                                         
the globe.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
What is needed is a jump-start from the Government and some                                                                                           
funding to position a secretariat to interface between the                                                                                            
requirements of enterprises in the recipient countries and the                                                                                        
register of our local volunteer experts.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Done properly, it could well provide the necessary human                                                                                              
resource support for our joint venture enterprises overseas,                                                                                          
although the intention is to assist indigenous enterprises of                                                                                         
the recipient countries.  Operating costs can be brought to a                                                                                         
minimum if "clients" contribute to the travel and board and                                                                                 
lodging expenses of the volunteer consultant.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Serving overseas as a voluntary consultant is an extension of                                                                                         
existing placements of Malaysian personnel overseas. Since                                                                                            
Merdeka, the Malaysian foreign service has had a growing                                                                                              
presence of missions, high commissions and embassies overseas,                                                                                        
followed by specific interests of Mida and Matrade.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
More recently, we see the growing numbers of Malaysian                                                                                                
expatriates working in the international marketplace. Serving                                                                                         
overseas in a voluntary capacity should further enrich the                                                                                            
relationship between Malaysia and the developing world.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
As we stand at the international crossroads, many options come                                                                                        
our way. There is no better road to international goodwill and                                                                                        
understanding than through direct interface between people of                                                                                         
different cultures at ground level.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Political rhetoric and MOUs cannot substitute for the physical                                                                                        
presence of qualified Malaysians working hand-in-hand with a                                                                                          
small business enterprise in Malawi or in Samoa to help create                                                                                        
wealth and economic opportunity for the host country.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
There can be nothing nobler than giving our expertise to                                                                                              
someone, somewhere, who desperately needs it, freely and                                                                                              
voluntarily. And we do have Malaysians who can be inspired to                                                                                         
serve such a cause.