Private Sector Will Be Prime Mover Of Malaysia's Economy

JOHOR BAHARU, May 22 (Bernama) -- The government wants to see the private sector take over the role played by the public sector as the prime mover of the country's economy in line with the New Economic Model (NEM), Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The prime minister and finance minister said the role of the private sector would become more important in the NEM. In fact it could be likened to the engine of growth of the country's economy.

"The government will only act as an enabler through the implementation of various incentives to enable the private sector to become the country's engine of economic growth," he said when opening the Aero Mall and Senai Airport Town on Saturday.

Present were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, state executive councillors and senior state government officers.

Najib said that since the 1997 Asian economic crisis, the role of the private sector in driving the economy had waned and the role had been taken over by the government sector.

Najib said the integrated development at the Senai Airport, which involved the private sector in the aerospace, logistics and cargo industry, as well as the Senai High Technology Park (SHTP) was in line with the government's aspirations in the NEM.

The government, as enabler, had given a RM150 million grant to develop the cargo industry at the airport and a RM300 million grant for the development of the SHTP, he added.

"Through the various government incentives, the Senai Airport is expected to receive more investments within and outside the country shortly," he said.

The private finance initiative (PFI) implemented by the government as enabler for the entry of more investments into the country was an apt method, he added.

Najib said many people had misconstrued the PFI method as a form of "deferred payment", with the private sector building the infrastructure first and the government paying later.

If this wrong PFI method was implemented, the government would be exposed to danger like what Greece and several other countries in Europe were facing in their debt crises now, he said.

He said the implementation of the NEM by the government was beginning to bear early fruit with the country's economic growth for the first quarter this year jumping to 10.1 per cent.

It had also succeeded in raising the country's competitiveness to 10th place, from 18th as stated in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2010, better than countries like the United Kingdom, he said.

On the Senai Airport, Najib said he understood that the airport operator, Senai Airport Terminal Service Sdn Bhd (SATS), had so far spent RM350 million on its construction.

He said the role and function of airports had changed now from being only "a public facility and infrastructure" to a form of "service investment" which had an impact on a country's socio-economy.

Earlier in his speech, the chief executive officer of SATS, Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Othman, said that over the next 10 years the company would be investing an additional RM2 billion on infrastructure and public amenities.

This additional investment he said, would accelerate the pace of growth and propel the Senai Airport to even greater heights.

"This new phase of development covers our new landbank of some 2,719 acres (1067.6 ha) adjacent to the airport. This is where the new intergrated Senai Airport City will be located.

"This will be the world's first such project that is directly linked to a major airport, with superb road, sea and rail connectivity," he added