Speaking to FMT, Sunway University economics professor Yeah Kim Leng and Parti Sosialis Malaysia chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said they were particularly disappointed with the deterioration in race relations since 1990, when the government first articulated the programme’s objectives.
Malaysians would continue to be divided for decades to come, they claimed.
“We’re almost there” in terms of economic development, said Yeah.
He noted that per capita income stood at US$11,000 in 2019, just US$1,500 short of the figure usually described as a “high status” income.
But, he said, high-income status for a nation must also imply technological advancement and a high standard of living, and Malaysia had not achieved either.
Yeah described contemporary Malaysia as a “fractured society”, adding that it was “way behind” the social integration goals it ought to be striving for.
The Vision 2020 programme – Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s brainchild – was supposed to turn Malaysia into a self-sufficient, industrialised nation by 2020. It promised, among other things, economic prosperity, social wellbeing, world-class education, political stability and psychological balance.
Jeyakumar acknowledged that gross domestic product (GDP) growth had been impressive, rising from about RM100 billion in 1990 to RM1.3 trillion last year.
“We’re two-thirds there,” he said, but added that economic equality was still a dream.
He noted that many people were still poor and, in recent years, had been getting deeper in debt.
He also noted that the starting pay for graduates remained between RM1,800 and RM2,000, that many had been forced to accept even lower wages, that many others were jobless and most could not afford the high rental rates in cities.
He acknowledged that more Malaysians were now house owners but said property prices had been increasing, adding to the burden of those whose incomes were low.
Jeyakumar described the Malaysia of today as “looking good on the outside” with its impressive highways and connectivity but a socially miserable nation because of racial divisiveness, for which he blamed politicians.
An activist in educational issues claimed that the education system had failed to produce the type of graduates needed to achieve the goals laid out in Vision 2020.
Tunku Munawirah Putra, the secretary of the Parent Action Group for Education, said the Trust School Programme and the continuation of dual language teaching had been beneficial but the lack of digital facilities, the inability of teachers to improve student performance and the government’s failure to pursue policies that could benefit the workforce had all been barriers to the nation’s ambition.
“We are still stuck in the middle-income trap,” she said. “Our graduates are not able to find jobs. There is a mismatch between what the job market requires and what is being taught at school. We can’t even get English language teaching right.”
Tunku Munawirah said changes were needed to the education policy and the way strategies were implemented if there was to be a course correction.
“We are talking about fundamental changes in the governance of the system, ultimately changing the incentives for administrators, teachers, parents and students, allowing difficult choices to be implemented and reorienting outcomes towards excellence for all,” she added.