PETALING JAYA: Improve implementation of integrity and issues related to best governance under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) to prepare the country for post-Covid-19 challenges, say experts.

       Prof Datuk Dr John Antony Xavier, who is Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology University vice-chancellor and chief executive, said among the problems faced in the previous rolling plans were the delivery system and speed of execution.

       “This was compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and money had to be shunted to the rakyat’s welfare in terms of employment subsidies and handouts,” he said.

       He said that certainty and consistency in government policies was a vital consideration for foreign investors.

       “We can entice back those who had left us and attract more FDIs through improvements in governance,” he said.

       Prof Antony Xavier said governance issues such as inter-agency coordination, centralisation and integrity could weigh down policy implementation.

       Citing an example, he said the 11th Malaysia Plan had rightly focused on education.

       He said the 12MP should focus on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), emphasising reskilling and upskilling of workers and school-leavers.

       The curriculum of TVET should be aligned to the dictates of the industry and the era of IR 4.0, he said.

       Economist Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram said that among the biggest challenges faced by the government in the 12MP were the unpredictability and fluidity of the current situation.

       “Due to the unpredictability of the pandemic, one-off payment (to affected groups) cannot be eliminated because we do not know how long the pandemic will go on.

       “This is a big challenge we are facing now in terms of planning, including allocation in the current unpredictable situation,” he said.

       Researchers at Research for Social Advancement had recently come up with a wish list, urging the government to introduce a roadmap for a five-year recovery plan which includes structural reforms in the government as well as private sector.

       It also wanted the 12MP to address the underlying issues of over-reliance on foreign workers.

       Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Zakariah Abdul Rashid said the 12MP must go hand in hand with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.

       “If we look at all the previous plans, including Vision 2020, it must be a continuation to that. We need to look back and also ask if all of the objectives of the plans had been achieved and whether they were beneficial to the country,” he said.