Seminar on ‘A Responsible Economy For Malaysia: Sabah’s Perspective’

SANDAKAN: The Institute for Development Studies (Sabah), in partnership with KonradAdenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is organising a seminar on ‘A Responsible Economy for Malaysia: Sabah’s Perspective’ at Four Points by Sheraton, Sandakan, on April 25.

In a statement issued yesterday, IDS Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Dr Johan Arriffin Samad said global economic developments, allows billions of people to attain high standards of living, however, social well-being and ecological viability are often compromised.

“There is now a significant awareness in Malaysia of taking a more holistic view of economic development, engineering a more responsible economy by steering finance, money, business and industries towards sectors and activities to serve the common good,” said Johan.

“The present economic growth and development trend may bring irreparable damage to our planet, and it is up to the government to think of a more responsible and sustainable economic growth model for our state and nation,” he added.

He stressed for a call for policies to emphasise poverty eradication, access to education, health, uplifting life quality of society, achieving high income, growth with equitable distribution, gender equality, managing and conserving the environment, to plan for a more responsible economy.

The seminar will start with a key panellist forum with a theme of The Sabah’s Economy at the Crossroad. The key panellists include Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, chairman of IDS and Wolfgang Hruschka, representative of KAS.

Johan will be the moderator for this session.

Dr Bonaventure Boniface, Senior Lecturer in Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) will be delivering the seminar’s keynote address.

There are seven working papers to be presented during the seminar which are New Ways to Reconnect Economy to Society by Freddy Rantau, Managing Director of Yayasan Usaha Maju; The Circular Economy and the Best Practice of Sustainability of Sabah’s Agricultural Development in TechnologyRich Environment by Professor Madya Dr Jupikely James Silip, Dean of Farm Management and Industrial Relations, Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, UMS; The Contemporary Economic Issues in Less Developed Region in Malaysia: Community Engagement in Reducing Imbalances and Strengthening the attractiveness of a Region from Sabah’s Perspective by Cynthia Ong, Chief Executive Facilitator, Forever Sabah; Entrepreneurship Development toward a More Equitable Economic Growth and Reducing Social Inequalities: Highlight of Skills and Resources to Meet the Needs of the Population by Associate Professor Dr. Geoffrey Harvey Tanakinjal, Deputy Director of UMS Labuan International Campus; Share in Development Progress: Social Responsible Investment and Participatory Financing in Improving the Quality of Life of the Community and Local Economy by Norita Yapi, Committee member of Kiulu Tourism Association; The Growing Reputation of Organization: Ethical Consumerism, Fair Trade, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Responsible Investment (CRI) by Foo Ngee Kee, President and CoFounder of Small and Medium Enterprise Association Sabah; and “Access versus Ownership” to Access Goods and Services On-Demand, Women Emancipation, Various Stakeholders Inclusion, and Digital or Artificial Intelligent as Part of Modern Society: The Experience of Indonesia by Dr Sahara Djaenudin Head of Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia.

IDS Board of Director Datuk Nancy Ho and Datuk Adeline Leong will be the moderators for the morning and afternoon session respectively.

About 180 participants, from both public and private sectors are expected to participate in this seminar. Any inquiries can be directed to Aslina Mustapa at 088- 450 500.