He also said any debate as to whether Malaysia is properly described as an Asian Tiger has no value in economic terms and debating the matter only serves to “misdirect policy and the understanding of economic development”.
“It is just political rhetoric. The debate should be on how to provide sustainable income security, where that comes from, and how it can best be achieved,” he told FMT.
On Sunday, FMT reported Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as saying that Malaysia was never an “Asian Tiger”, refuting claims Dr Mahathir Mohamad made when he was prime minister.
Tengku Razaleigh, or Ku Li as he is popularly known, also cautioned against giving in to illusions of grandeur, adding in jest that Malaysia was “actually a monkey” given it has not achieved developed status.
The term “Asian Tigers” was popularly used in the 1980s and 1990s to describe the fast-growing economies of Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Malaysia, together with countries like Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, was tipped to join their ranks, but its economic growth was derailed by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Williams explained that Malaysia has since the 1970s been reliant on commodities, especially oil and gas and palm oil, for its economic growth.
“The wealth created has been the backbone of the economy but has not been used wisely for innovation or social protection unlike in Norway, for example.”
He also said “highly protectionist policies” adopted by the country in the automotive sector had only served to push out agile, competitive and innovative businesses.
Meanwhile, economist Yeah Kim Leng said Malaysia’s potential to become a full-fledged Tiger economy with strong innovation and technological capabilities was “still within grasp”.
Yeah, who sits on a policy advisory committee to the prime minister, said the goal could be achieved if the various economic masterplans, blueprints and roadmaps drawn up are properly implemented, and provided the surge in foreign direct investment is sustained over the longer term.
“There is renewed hope that growth will pick up over the next few years, buoyed by the recent surge in technology-intensive FDI inflows and higher investor confidence in the country’s policy direction,” Yeah, a senior fellow at Sunway University, told FMT.
Yesterday, Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak told FMT that the Asian Tiger label was meaningless to the people, adding that the country’s economic achievements should be measured quantitatively.
He said the government’s focus should be on improving the income and wellbeing of Malaysian households.