‘Our work is done’
ALL SUGGESTIONS WILL BE PRESENTED IN A REPORT TO PM WHEN HE RETURNS FROM CHINA
FINANCE Ministry is the first ministry that needs immediate institutional and governance reforms, says CEP chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin.
THE Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) has ended its 100-day term, says its chairman, Tun Daim Zainuddin. He said the council, which held its final meeting on Aug 17, had fulfilled the mandate given to it within the specified period.
“Our work is done. All the mandates given have been completed.
“All suggestions will be presented in a report to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad upon his return from China,” he said at a press conference at Ilham Tower here yesterday.
On Dr Mahathir’s statement that CEP might be continued, Daim said he was not aware of it.
“Our role here is as volunteers. As all CEP members’ work is over, they will now return to their normal jobs.”
The council was set up by Dr Mahathir on May 12 to advise the prime minister on socio-economic and financial matters.
Its members include former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Hassan Merican, billionaire Robert Kuok and economist Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram.
Daim said the council’s report contained three key themes, which were improving governance, wellbeing of the people, and ensuring the economy was inclusive and sustainable.
He said, over the course of 100 days, the council met with more than 350 individuals from more than 200 organisations, ranging from regulatory enforcement agencies, bankers, trade associations, chambers of commerce, corporations, small- and medium-scale industries, consumers, producers, retailers, artistes, and others.
On governance and institutional reforms, Daim said an Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC) was tasked with examining the state of key institutions and laws and to recommend the necessary reforms.
IRC had received about 1,000 submissions from members of the public, including letters and emails.
“While the council took note 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.”
On inclusivity, Daim said the council looked into ways to address multi-dimensional poverty and imbalances in society and ways to improve programmes and policies that were key to ensuring people’s wellbeing.
The recommendations, among others, was to focus on issues related to poverty, inequality and measures to reduce cost of living, such as housing affordability, fuel subsidy, social protection, toll and the Cost of Living Aid, which was formerly known as 1Malaysia People’s Aid.
He said the council was of the opinion that the current overemphasis on cash handouts did not promote upward social and economic mobility.
“The cash assistance provided is disproportionately large relative
to the skills upgrading initiatives.
“It tends to create an aid-dependent culture, particularly among youth and single people.”
The recommendations also looked into the Bumiputera agenda with the aim of enhancing the socio-economic wellbeing and inducing a positive mindset change among the said community.
On sustainable economic growth and fiscal reforms, Daim said one of the key recommendations included the development of a new framework for investment incentives with the aim of reversing the structural decline of the economy.
“This requires replacing irrelevant existing incentives with new ones that are outcomebased and promote sustainable and inclusive growth,” he said.
The council, he said, 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, he added, aimed to strengthen fiscal discipline and accountability, especially in debt management.
“The report proposes ways to increase revenue, as well as redesigning the tax policy to ensure that it is progressive, fair and balanced.” he said.
“It also looks at ways to optimise expenditures, with emphasis on efficiency and reducing leakages.”
Daim said the council’s review and recommendations were in no way an exhaustive analysis of the many issues facing Malaysia.
He said there were no quickfixes to the problems that the council had identified and “many challenges still lie ahead”.
“The government and the people must be ready to make and accept difficult decisions for the long-term benefit of the nation.”