CONCEIVED in 1983, Malaysia Inc - an idea borrowed from the                                                                                           
Japanese but given a Malaysian treatment - has certainly met                                                                                          
its main objective of wealth-creation for the country.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
This was confirmed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir                                                                                           
Mohamad at a recent summit (July 24 & 25) on Malaysia                                                                                                 
Incorporated, organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership                                                                                          
Institute (Asli) and the Malaysian Administrative                                                                                                     
Modernisation and Manpower Planing Unit (Mampu) of the Prime                                                                                          
Minister's Department.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
During the first 10 years of its implementation, Malaysia Inc                                                                                         
helped the country to record an impressive 7% economic growth                                                                                         
rate annually. The privatisation policy, an important part of                                                                                         
Malaysia Inc, also met its target. To date, the 457 totally                                                                                           
privatised projects have yielded RM23.l bil in terms of                                                                                               
proceeds from the sale of its equity.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Accordingly, Malaysia's profile abroad had also increased. We                                                                                         
became the 17th largest trading nation in the world.                                                                                                  
Malaysia's development model has been adopted as the standard                                                                                         
by which other developing countries would build their nations.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
It was felt that the effective and efficient cooperation                                                                                              
established between the public and private sectors, a                                                                                                 
mechanism that evolved from Malaysia Inc, had assisted the                                                                                            
country even in the difficult economic times of 1986-87 and                                                                                           
1998- 99. This smart partnership had been able to steer the                                                                                           
country out of the economic and financial crisis at both                                                                                              
times.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Despite the upbeat picture, however, many felt that the                                                                                               
implementation process had encountered some weaknesses. In                                                                                            
particular, the private sector, identified as the engine of                                                                                           
growth, had sometimes been left out of the decision- making                                                                                           
process.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Industry had groused that it was not given adequate feedback                                                                                          
on its inputs to policies; agreements to legislate on policy                                                                                          
issues took a long time to be effected and the consultation                                                                                           
process had lacked transparency. The Government was also asked                                                                                        
to include the small and medium-sized industries in the fold                                                                                          
of Malaysia Inc.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Almost all the participants agreed that, if there is a need to                                                                                        
expand the areas under Malaysia Inc, higher education                                                                                                 
institutions run on a private basis should be one area that                                                                                           
could come under its purview. It was notes that role of the                                                                                           
private sector in this field is expanding and may require the                                                                                         
use of the dialogue mechanism to expedite matters.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Generally, it was felt that the success of Malaysia Inc should                                                                                        
be allowed to cascade down to the people. In particular, its                                                                                          
benefits must be explained and promoted so that there could be                                                                                        
a proper buy-in by the people of all Government policies.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
The summit ended on a note of expectation. At one lcvel, the                                                                                          
openness and                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
,,~illingness of the Government to stand up to scrutiny was                                                                                           
very laudable indeed. One                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
uld never have imagined that participants cidld take part in                                                                                          
an open dialogue with five 4ey ministers who provided a full                                                                                          
briefing on the achievements of the various issues under their                                                                                        
portfolios: Transport, Works, Primary Industries, Energy,                                                                                             
Communications and Multimedia, and Domestic Trade and Consumer                                                                                        
Affairs.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It was a success on the part of the Government and, by                                                                                                
extension, the ministers themselves, at providing a frank                                                                                             
assessment of their performance in the various                                                                                                        
responsibilities.  By doing so, it was trying to close the gap                                                                                        
between the public's perception of policy formulation and                                                                                             
implementation.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The confidence displayed by the Government, however, must be                                                                                          
matched by its willingness to relate the issue of Malaysia Inc                                                                                        
to the larger question of national interest. One could detect                                                                                         
from the participants' tenor of questions and comments their                                                                                          
wish to involve the Government in the broad discussion of this                                                                                        
topic even at the beginning of the summit.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
National interest here is defined as the need to explain                                                                                              
public policies to all levels of society. No harm is seen in                                                                                          
the trumpeting of Government's success at doing some of the                                                                                           
things it said it did. At the same time, if the role of the                                                                                           
private sector has equally been significant, then this must                                                                                           
also be reflected at some point somewhere.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
What is required is a concerted effort by all involved to                                                                                             
clear some of the public's misperceptions over Government                                                                                             
policies that have been publicised as success stories.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Because of the perceived reluctance on the Government's part                                                                                          
to do this, the public is believed to hold on to the view that                                                                                        
the Government is undergoing a crisis-of-confidence.  Some of#                                                                                        
the participants have even asked if the h*Nte campaigns                                                                                               
recently reported in the local media are a consequence of a                                                                                           
misinformed public.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
I was reminded of the presentation by the president of the                                                                                            
American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), Nicholas S.                                                                                          
Zefferys at the summit.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
In his paper, "Reducing the Costs of Doing Business the                                                                                               
Malaysia Inc Way," he provid                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
ed evidence from an ~opinion poll that he conducted on                                                                                                
peoples' perceptions of the brand "Malaysia Inc," which I                                                                                             
believe was the result of a lack of information on the                                                                                                
subject.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
The message he wanted us to have was that when it was first                                                                                           
introduced, Malaysia Inc proved to be a big success for that                                                                                          
time.  Since then, however, the imageof Malaysia Inc has                                                                                              
"suffered some deterioration." He continued: "When it was made                                                                                        
known earlier, the brand was strong and positive, Over time,                                                                                          
the image has changed. It needs to be revived or revised."                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Some of the views polled include:                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
* NO recognisable brand;                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
* ROLE of women is not clear; ,                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
* PUBLIC and private sectors converged to work together                                                                                               
through a joint venture of private enterprise and Government;                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
* I DON'T see Malaysia Inc in Penang;                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
* DOES not apply to Chinese or Indians;                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
* A FORCED attempt to legitimise government operations;                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
* HAS successfully created Malay capitalists; and                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
* IT IS Malaysia's value driver and revenue driver                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Zefferys further said: "The results showed that there was no                                                                                          
clear and consistent brand image. Without such a clear                                                                                                
branding message, it is likely that the stakeholders                                                                                                  
implementing the brand philosophy will also lack an actionable                                                                                        
message," leading to a situation where it is difficult to                                                                                             
guide perceptions and ultimately behaviour.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
What needs to be done now is to set a new direction for                                                                                               
Malaysia Inc.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Some of the areas that require attention are: ensuring                                                                                                
sustainability in the economic growth rates; reviving SMEs;                                                                                           
the pace of market- friendly privatisation programmes;                                                                                                
rebuilding the policy image; and raising our capacity and                                                                                             
competitiveness of key industries to be global players and                                                                                            
meet the globalisation challenge convincingly.