Minister and PEMANDU boss Dato Seri Idris Jala told a conference of accountants that Malaysia has to reduce its reliance on the oil and gas industry. But more than half the investments in the  ETP, which he is driving, is from the oil and gas sector. This third and final instalment of the infographic series [...]

Part 2 of this infographic series spotlights questions on the selection of the NKEAs, the due diligence process at PEMANDU and the lack of private sector enthusiasm for the ETP. A brief glance of the graphics and charts below will illuminate the way! (Click the image for larger size) Download PDF of the infographic

We understand it can be overwhelming for normal Malaysians to absorb the economic jargon and numbers thrown by PEMANDU, let alone the alphabet soup of acronyms. That is why REFSA now presents a 3 part infographic series of our in-depth “A Critique of the ETP – Evaluating PEMANDU on its DEEDS” – which you can [...]

If PEMANDU indeed delivers on its ETP goals, entrepreneurs and capitalists will be the big winners. Wage-earners will get only 21% of the additional RM800 million gross national income (GNI) the ETP promises to create. This is less than the 28% share they get today, and will take us even further away from the 50% norm in [...]

Can PEMANDU steer us to high-income status when it has made zero headway in the area of Financial Services, while gunning full speed towards mega projects? PEMANDU envisions Financial Services to provide 15% of the income boost that will take us to high-income status. However, not a single EPP (Entry Point Project) has been announced [...]

The uphill journey of economic transformation is looking even steeper, with the private sector share of investments in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) slipping far below target. The ETP targets the private sector to provide 60% of the investments required to take Malaysia to high-income status by 2020. However, private sector  participation makes up only [...]

‘Dud’, ‘doubts’ and ‘debt’ are three words written all over at least two Entry Point Projects (EPPs), punctuated only by question marks. The investment cost for the Karambunai Integrated Resort in Sabah more than tripled from RM3 billion to nearly RM10 billion in 6 short months. At this price, it needs 2.8 million visitors per [...]

How transformative is our Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), really? In 8 short weeks, 12 ‘labs’ comprising 30-50 experts each researched, brainstormed, and devised 131 Entry Point Projects (EPPs) across 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs). What impressive numbers! But an impression of transformation was probably what all those digits delivered. PEMANDU emphasises the private sector [...]

PEMANDU seems to be delivering on its lofty promise to transform Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020 with extraordinary efficiency. 113 EPPs (Entry Point Projects) worth RM177 billion of investment and creating nearly 390,000 jobs have been announced. 97 of these are already underway and 1 is up and running. However, while gazes followed [...]