(PART 2) My Thoughts :- PNB 100 –storey tower & Malaysia Economy

PART 2

KLCC from Sky Bar

1. Yes, mega project has it pros. KLCC project has multiplied effect and is a success. It has not just become the landmark of Malaysia but sparked a property boom in the surrounding area which today boasts the city’s most expensive condominiums.

2. However, we should always be reminded that construction spending does stimulate the economy, but it does very little to create a high-income economy.

3. We’ve spent the past 20 years focusing on construction, and what has it done to Malaysia? Yes, we have some very nice infrastructures but still trapped in the middle-income group.

4. Malaysia has transformed a lot since independence and achieved some scale of success.

5. But we are not doing fast and good enough.

6. In the book “Pilot Studies on New Penang” edited by Ooi Kee Beng and Goh Ban Lee, it clearly stated late-comer nations must acquire industrial and technological capability through sustainable investment to catch up with advanced nations.

7. Asian Newly Industrialised Economics (NIEs) or popular known as 4 Small Dragons such as Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore did very well in this case.

Taiwan High Speed Rail, 300KM/H, connecting Taipei to Kaohshiung.

Imagine we can travel from Penang to KL / KL to Singapore less than 2 hours?

Singapore newly opened The Sand @ Marina Bay.
Center Business District in the background.

The successful restored of Cheonggyecheon River at Seoul.
It was even worser than Sg Pinang / Klang River by then.

Sexy Skyline Victoria Bay @ Hong Kong

8. In the 60s, Malaysia was on par even more developed than the above nations. However, 40 years later they have far exceeded us. Taiwan and South Korea have their world famous brands such as Acer, HTC, Hong Hai, LG, Samsung, Kia while Singapore and Hong Kong are the world financial centers.

9. And one has to be reminded the above nations barely have any natural resources compared to us.

10. Talking about human capital, one cannot miss the significance role of Research & Development (R&D) on a nation development. I would like to highlight few data here which tell the stories.

10.1 Total no. of Scientific Publication (2001- 2005)

Indonesia -------------------2,903

Philippines -----------------2,462

Malaysia ------------------6,535

Thailand ------------------11,653

Singapore ----------------28,117

Taiwan -------------------75,620

South Korea -----------110,012

US --------------------1,512,217

SOURCE: Wong and Ho (2007b), computed from Thomson Reuters National Science Indicator.

10.2 Total no. of USPTO Utility Patents (2001 – 2005)

Malaysia ---------------464

Thailand ----------------201

Indonesia ----------------59

Philippines -------------162

Singapore ------------2,375

South Korea -------20,501

Taiwan -------------27,838

Souce: Wong and Ho (2007b)

10.3 Publication and Citations of Selected Malaysian Universities vs other Asian Universities (Jan 1999- Feb 2009)

University---------No of Papers ---------------------------No of Citations

USM ------------------------------------------3,250 -----------------13,257

UM --------------------------------------------3,439 -----------------14,316

UKM ------------------------------------------1,528 ------------------5,624

Hong Kong University of Sci & Tech ---10,402 -----------------96,281

NUS ------------------------------------------28,602 ---------------236,388

National Taiwan University ---------------27,225 ---------------196,631

University of Tokyo -----------------------67,864 ----------------882,361

SOURCE: Compiled from Thomson ISI’ Essential Science Indicator

11. The data has shown us clearly Malaysia has to work harder especially in terms of Research & Development.

12. Many agree that the key towards transformation is to focus on attracting and retaining human capital, good education system, ease of doing business, good governance, equal education and job opportunities, political stability and above all, focus more on R&D.

13. (Quote from The Edge) It’s disheartening as Budget 2011 just allocates RM482 million for R&D&C (Research & Development & Commercialization), which is a miserable 0.2% of total budget. Whereas South Korea allocates 3.37% of its GDP, a whopping R&D budget of RM84 billion which is almost 200 times than we do. In Singapore latest budget, they plan to spend 3.5% of their GDP on R&D, or RM7.7 billion a year. Malaysia R&D budget is just 6% of Singapore’s.

14. Now we know what is our strength and where we should work harder.

15. I’m a local undergraduate who loves my country Malaysia. It is my biggest wish to see Malaysia prospers and be a developed country. There’re already a lot of Malaysia's success stories such as Air Asia’s Tony Fernandes, the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong who founded Genting Group, CIMB’s Dato Sri Nazir Razak and PETRONAS.

16. Our neighbor countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines are developing progressively and might overtake us soon.

17. We have no time to waste.

18. What Malaysia will be 20 years later depends on what we do now.

19. Let’s us together, regardless of background, do our part for this nation.

References and quotes from:-

1. Interesting, but transformation it is not by V Sivapalan on Money+Entrepreneurship The Edge October 25, 2010

2. Take a second look at the 100-storey tower by Azam Aris on My Say The Edge October 25, 2010

3. Warisan Merdeka: Build and they will come? By Jenny Ng on Big Money The Edge October 25, 2010

4. Not just growth for growth’s sake Cover Story The Edge October 25, 2010

5. Data of KL city office space supply and demand, from Ministry of Finance’s National Property Information Centre (Napic), retrieved 13 November 2011 on http://www.jpph.gov.my/V1/index3service.php?versi=1&no_khidmat=3&no_item=3&showold=yes&page=2

6. Bangkok Skyline, proposed skyscraper , retrieved 13 November 2011 on http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=956606&page=2

7. Cambodia to build Asia tallest skyscraper, retrieved 13 November 2011 on http://www.property-report.com/site/cambodia-to-build-south-east-asias-tallest-tower-8892

8. Ranking of tallest Skyscraper, retrieved 13 November 2011 on http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=102116&page=53

9. Global cities, retrieved 13 November 2011 on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city

10. Page 23, 29, 35, 48 Asia’s Shift towards Innocation and Its Implication for Penang, Pilot Studies for a New Penang edited by Ooi Kee Beng & Goh Ban Lee

11. All pictures are searched from Google

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