Nobility of character essential to economic development

WE Malaysians often hear our elders advising the younger generation to behave well, work hard, and uphold virtues such as respecting others and working through differences to maintain harmony.

The government also oversees the pursuit of honesty, trust and integrity in everyday life, especially in the workplace, through public-service campaigns. Nobility of character has become synonymous with our culture, and has been translated into customs based on courtesy, morality and societal harmony. The value of noble conduct, good manners and a caring society goes beyond mere wealth creation and economic progress. They are the core attributes for high-quality institutions and the rule of law, which are necessary for economic advancement and sustainability.

Because of the noble character of her citizens, Malaysia has enjoyed various privileges, respect and recognition at the international level. Malaysia has experienced high and constant levels of inflows of foreign direct investment over the last few decades. This is strong evidence of a high level of confidence on the part of international investors with regard to risk, expected returns and investment feasibility. In fact, our country’s economy has grown in a better way than some resource-rich countries, such as those in the Organisation of Petroleum-Exporting Countries.

Day-to-day experience has shown us that though the focus of good character is not directly linked to the generation of wealth, the application of it is in fact the fastest way to win confidence and trust from investors. In fact, the achievement of a high-income economic status through a noble and ethical approach is more established, and can be tested in places like Japan, the United Kingdom and other developed nations.

Fundamentally, there are four basic pillars required for achieving high-income and a developed nation status with a small and resources-limited economy: high foreign direct investment; an efficient financial system; a conducive physical infrastructure; and advanced and sustainable technology. There is, however a “fifth element”, which is a high level of human capital, that ensures the four requirements function in concert.

In a nutshell, a noble character is the foundation for this muchneeded competent human capital. Technical skills alone are not sufficient. Good craftsmanship and a highly skilled labour force without noble virtues will not give meaning to development. This is evidenced in all developed nations, all of which are countries whose corruption perception index (CPI) published by Transparency International (TI) is close to 100, where 0 indicates the greatest amount of corruption and 100 the lowest.

With unethical behaviour, the financial system will become flawed. This is because the existing financial system does not have the ability to distinguish between ethical and unethical people. Due to asymmetric information, financial providers will take the approach of levelling the financing rate against their risk premiums. All parties, including the ethical ones, have to bear the burden of people who are unethical.

Hence, efforts to establish moral values should not be a secondary agenda behind academic and technical capabilities, or the sophistication of physical infrastructure. In fact, the formation of a noble character should take precedence and be a prerequisite to progress. All parties should support efforts to cultivate noble and ethical character, especially for formal education systems, be they preschool, primary, secondary or university, public or private. It should be fully understood that the application of noble values and commendable qualities is not only related to behaviour, but goes far into the economic aspects, the cost of living and developed-nation status. Cultivating good behaviour and an ethical society is a lifelong process, but the rewards are immeasurable. Bear in mind that Rome was not built in a day.