Nungsari, an economist, said the investment directive to the companies should shift from investing in already successful firms listed on the stock exchange to firms that focus on “creating new things”.
Nungsari said this approach would encourage innovation and improve competitiveness, helping the country catch up with developed nations such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
However, Nungsari said GLICs faced a conundrum in that any investment failure would incur public backlash, such as the investment losses suffered by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) in FashionValet.
“We must acknowledge that the risk of investing in new firms is high. We need to expect that seven or eight out of 10 firms will fail.
“But we can focus on investing in firms that benefit the public. If the investment turns out to be a success, it will benefit the country,” Nungsari said at a forum here.
In response, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said accountability is a key aspect in any investment involving public funds.
However, he added, there could be a mechanism to set aside a portion of funds to assist startups.
Anwar also said that the country must take a “quantum leap” to become a developed nation, even though such changes might lead to inevitable teething problems such as political or social tensions.
High-level jobs to court overseas Malaysians
Plantation and commodities minister Johari Ghani said high-level jobs must be created to court talented Malaysians who are working overseas.
He said 20% of the two million Malaysians overseas are in senior executive positions but the country does not have the capacity to provide them with salaries that are commensurate with their talent.
“We must have the right opportunities for them to come back and serve the country. I want to see the economy developed to a point where we can ultimately absorb them back into our system,” he said.
Nungsari added that one way to achieve this is through innovative entrepreneurship that can give the nation a competitive edge regionally or globally.
“This is the only way to change the structure of our labour market,” he said.
Khazanah managing director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said that talent retention requires the local economy to be vibrant and robust.
“I don’t think any intervention is needed to retain talent, except to ensure that our companies are successful. When they are, talented people will be paid handsomely,” he said. “Let competition drive the market.”