PH studying Malaysia, Singapore trade practices, says House economy chair
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – The Philippines intends to go deeper in dissecting the mature trade practices in Malaysia and Singapore.
This was how Third District representative Arthur Yap, who chairs the House committee on economic affairs, summarized the rationale of the trip of Philippine legislators to the two countries on April 17 to 22.
Yap l ed a delegation of Philippine legislators comprising representatives Jose Panganiban (chair, agriculture committee), Cesar Sarmiento (chair, transportation committee ), Xavier Jose
(vice chair, trade and industry committee) and Janna S. Olladas (committee secretariat), to undertake studies and consultations with officials in Malaysia and Singapore, on relevant topics that they are working on in their respective and joint committees.
In his travel report, Yap noted on the corporate farms, government and economic transformation, as strategies to defeat Malaysian poverty.
The Philippine delegation met with Dato Sri Idris
Malaysia’s minister of transformation, and AECOM, an American multinational engineering firm.
On transforming government and lifting people out of poverty, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib said he wanted government to deliver on basic services and along the way, make his people richer beyond their GDP per capita of USD 6,700 in 2009.
“Through an Eight-Step Process patented by Malaysia, the government focused on seven key national result areas centered on reducing crime, fighting corruption, improving student outcomes, raising standards of living, improving rural development, public transport and costs of living.”
“The same system was applied to the Economy by focusing on 12 key strategic industries accompanied by 6 reform initiatives.”
“Private business were so impressed by the government’s commitment that it agreed to invest $440 billion until 2020 to help the nation achieve its goals. These are funds over and above what the Malaysian Government will spend in capital infrastructure investments,” he added.
In 2009 the GDP per capita of Malaysia was $ 6,700. Today, in
2017, or just less than a decade later, it is now $12,000, Yap further cited.
“What we realize is that, it is not so much in groundbreaking programs that Malaysia is implementing, but in the process and accountability that they have employed to implement these programs. Malaysia got every sector’s “buy in” on a national plan. On the basis of this plan, they made their highest officials accountable and whose performance are checked on a brutal “weekly” basis.
“With the Philippines GDP per capita today barely breaking $D 4,000, and Malaysia’s GDP per capita at $12,000; with Philippine Rural Poverty Incidence at more than 40 percent and Malaysia’s Poverty Incidence at barely 1 percent; with the Philippines’ fragmented rural farm system and subsistence farmers compared to Malaysia’s corporate farms and global dominance of palm oil, is Malaysia doing something right or what?” Yap added. ( PNA)