“YOU CAN’T EVER WIN BUT THE FIGHT IS WORTH FIGHTING.” SIMILARLY, THE STRUGGLE FOR A MALAYSIA THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF IS A NEVER-ENDING ONE. OVERCOME ONE CHALLENGE AND THERE WILL BE ANOTHER HILL AHEAD.
“YOU CAN’T EVER WIN BUT THE FIGHT IS WORTH FIGHTING.” SIMILARLY, THE STRUGGLE FOR A MALAYSIA THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF IS A NEVER-ENDING ONE. OVERCOME ONE CHALLENGE AND THERE WILL BE ANOTHER HILL AHEAD.
THE TWO MAIN PROBLEMS WITH “STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM” IS ITS PLACEMENT OF THE COMPANY AS “TRUSTEES OF SOCIETY” AND “THE BEST RESPONSE” TO TODAY’S MULTI-FACETED CHALLENGES. GENEROSITY IS NOT JUSTICE.
AUTOMATION THAT DISRUPTS EMPLOYMENT WITHOUT A CORRESPONDING BOOST IN PRODUCTIVITY ARE LABELED AS ‘SO-SO’ TECHNOLOGIES. AS WE CONSIDER WHAT FORMS OF TECHNOLOGY WE WANT TO SUPPORT AND PUSH FOR, WE NEED TO BE MORE NUANCED.
All this is important as we embark on the new wave of economic policymaking. Either go big or stay home.
Culture clearly matters and, unfortunately, culture is something that is super difficult to change overnight, especially a culture of tradition.
Are we prepared to handle the inevitable social fallout from greater automation, as well as the difficult decisions arising from creative destruction?
The choice of what economic activities to pursue – and therefore, what things to export – is the domain of Industrial Policy.
We can either create a thriving Malaysia for our descendants 110 years from now, or we can let them go the way of Dawson City after the end of the Klondike Gold Rush.
Approaches to tackling inequality need to take into account the larger picture of national development. We cannot miss the forest for the trees.
After 61 years of institutional, cultural, economic, societal and political path dependence, surely there was going to be a J-curve for the new government.
What if the outcome most preferred by the median voter is a poor outcome? Say, Brexit.