? In our drive to move vigorously ahead nothing is more important then the development of human resources

In our drive to move vigorously ahead nothing is more important then the development of human resources.
From the experience in the last two decades of all the economic miracles of the countries that have been poor in terms of "natural resources", it is blindingly clear that the most important resource of any nation must be the talents, skills, creativity and will of its people. What we have between our ears, at our elbow and in our heart is much more important than what we have below our feet and around us. Our people is our ultimate resource. Without a doubt, in the 1990s and beyond, Malaysia must give the fullest emphasis possible to the development of this ultimate resource.
Malaysia has one of the best educational systems in the Third World. But for the journey that we must make over our second generation, new standards have to be set and new results achieved.
We cannot but aspire to the highest standards with regard to the skills of our people, to their devotion to knowhow and knowledge upgrading and self-improvement, to their language competence, to their work attitudes and discipline, to their managerial abilities, to their achievement motivation, their attitude towards excellence and to the fostering of the entrepreneurial spirit.
We cannot afford to neglect the importance of entrepreneurship and entrepreneural development, which goes, of course beyond training and education. We must ensure the correct mix with regard to professionals, sub-professionals, craftsmen and artisans, and the correct balance with regard to those with competence in science and technology, the a rts and social sciences.
In the development of human resources we cannot afford to neglect half the population i.e. the Bumiputeras. If they are not brought into the mainstream, if their potentials are not fully developed, if they are allowed to be a millstone around the national neck, then our progress is going to be retarded by that much. No nation can achieve full progress with only half its human resources harnessed. What may be considered a burden now can, with the correct attitude and management be the force that lightens our burden and hasten our progress. The Bumiputeras must play their part fully in the achievement of the national goal.
Inflation is the bane of all economic planners. Fortunately except during the first oil shock when inflation went up to 17%, Malaysia has managed to keep inflation low. We must continue to keep it low. The Government the business sector, and the people must be committed to keeping it low. The only real way to combat inflation is to live within one's means. If we cannot afford we just don't buy. In Malaysia this is possible for we can produce practically all we need in terms of food, shelter and clothing. When recently we had a recession, life was bearable because we were able to buy our needs at roughly the same price i.e. we had practically no inflation. Now that we have more money, demand pull is slowly forcing prices up. So although we may be more prosperous now, although we may be financially wealthier now, but in terms of purchasing power we are not as well-off as we should be.
The public must understand what causes inflation and must be disciplined enough to combat it. In some countries when inflation rates go up to thousands of per cent per year, Governments have been changed again and again without inflation being contained. The reason is that the people are not disciplined and prepared to restrain themselves. No Government can put a stop to inflation unless the people are prepared to accept the discomfort of austerity.
In the fight against inflation nothing is more effective than education and discipline among the people.
In an interdependent trading world, the exchange rate plays a vital role. Too cheap a currency will increase import bills and debt payment but it will make exports competitive. But the full benefit of a low exchange rate on export can be negated by the cost of imported material which go into the exported products. A high currency value will "enrich" our people, particularly in terms of buying imported luxuries but our exports will not be competitive and the economy will eventually be adversely affected.
Clearly the management of the exchange rate is of extreme importance to the progress of our nation. There is only a limited ability to manipulate. In the final analysis it is how we balance our trade that will determine how our currency is valued. Malaysia must learn to be competitive through higher productivity rather than through manipulating exchange rates. Again the people must understand their role, particularly with regard to productivity.
In a world of high technology Malaysia cannot afford to lag behind. We cannot be in the front line of modern technology but we must always try to catch up at least in those fields where we may have certain advantages. We have already adopted a National Plan of Action for Industrial Technology Development. This is the easy part. We must now proceed expeditiously to the enormously difficult task of implementation.
The Government will certainly provide the necessary commitment and leadership to this national endeavour. The institutional and support infrastructure will be put in place to ensure rapid, realistic, focussed and market-driven development of our technological capabilities. But let us never forget that technology is not for the laboratory but the factory floor and the market. The private sector and our people must respond. Far too often the results of research are ignoured in favour of the tried and tested moneyspinners. It has been said that the secret of Japan's success is its skill in applying research results to marketable products. If we don't do this we are going to be left behind whatever may be the level of our technology.
While increasing our industrial manufacturing sector, Malaysia must make sure that our agriculture and services sector will not be neglected. We must advance. We must strive for efficiency, modernity and competitiveness. These should be the key guiding principles of our national policy towards agriculture, tourism and the fullest development of the entire services sector.
Nor can we afford to neglect the rural sector of our economy and society. In the years ahead, we must work for a second rural development transformation, restructuring the villages so as to be compatible with both agriculture and modern industry. Less and less farmers should produce more and more food, thus releasing manpower for an industrial society.
While doing all these we must also ensure that our valuable natural resources are not wasted. Our land must remain productive and fertile, our atmosphere clear and clean, our water unpolluted, our forest resources capable of regeneration, able to yield the needs of our national development. The beauty of our land must not be desecrated -for it s own sake and for our economic advancement.
In the information age that we are living in the Malaysian society must be information rich. It can be no accident that there is today no wealthy, developed country that is information-poor and no information-rich country that is poor and undeveloped.
There was a time when land was the most fundamental basis of prosperity and wealth. Then came the second wave, the age of industrialisation. Smokestacks rose where the fields were once cultivated. Now, increasingly, knowledge will not only be the basis of power but also prosperity. Again we must keep up. Already Malaysians are among the biggest users of computers in the region. Computer literacy is a must if we want to progress and develop. No effort must be spared in the creation of an information rich Malaysian society.
In international relations, the emphasis should be less on politics and ideology but more on economic imperatives. Small though we may be we must strive to influence the course of international trade. To grow we have to export. Our domestic market is far too small. It is importent to us that free trade is maintained. The trend towards the form ation of trading blocs will damage our progress and we must oppose it. We must therefore play our part and not passively accept the dictates of those powerful nations who may not even notice what their decision have done to us.
A country without adequate economic defence capabilities and the ability to marshall influence and create coalitions in the international economic arena is an economically defenceless nation and an economically powerless state. This Malaysia cannot afford to be.
There are many other policies that must be in place if we are to make the 1990s the most economically productive decade in our history.Let me end by mentioning just one more: the necessity of making Malaysia Incorporated a flourishing reality.
Let me stress not all collaboration between our public and private sector is justifiable or productive. In many areas there must be a long arm's length approach. But there can be no doubt that a productive partnership will take us a long way towards our aspirations.