NKEA LAB OUTPUTS TO BE SHOWCASED AT ETP OPEN DAY ON SEPT 21

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- Output of the National Key Economic
Area (NKEA) laboratories will be displayed to the public at the Economic
Transformation Programme (ETP) Open Day at Putra World Trade Centre on Sept 21.

Similar open day will be held at four points at the Sheraton Hotel in
Kuching, capital of the east Malaysian state of Sarawak on Oct 4 and at Magellan
Sutera Harbour Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, capital of the east Malaysian state of
Sabah on Oct 7, said the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) in
a statement.

The ETP is part of the comprehensive government economic agenda built on
the 10th Malaysia Plan, New Economic Model (NEM) and the principles of
1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.

The NKEA is the driver of economic activity that has the potential to
directly and materially contribute to a quantifiable amount of economic growth.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala said Malaysia's
historical growth engines were slowing down as reflected in the country's
sluggish economic performance over the last few years.

We are at risk of being stuck in the middle-income trap and have not been
able to move up the value chain to compete with high-income nations.

"We continue to struggle to attract and retain talents necessary to support
a high-income economy. Quite clearly, business as usual is simply not enough.

"Malaysia needs a complete economic transformation, there is no time to
lose," said Idris, who is also PEMANDU chief executive officer.

The NKEA laboratories involved more than 500 participants from over 200
private sector companies, government ministries, agencies, regulatory bodies and
non-governmental organisations.

It was a follow up to the thousand-person workshop convened in May, during
which, a consensus on key growth sectors was achieved.

This unprecedented public-private sector collaboration has identified
specific projects and business opportunities underpinned by the 12 NKEAs laid
down in the 10th Malaysia Plan.

They are oil, gas and energy, palm oil, financial services, tourism,
business services, electrical and electronics, wholesale and retail, education,
healthcare, communications content and infrastructure, agriculture and greater
Kuala Lumpur.

Of the 12 NKEAs, 11 are industry sectors and one -- Greater Kuala Lumpur --
is a geographic location.

"The ETP is essentially the economic roadmap for Malaysia, one that is
co-created by the private sector and the government. It marks a fundamental
departure in the approach towards economic planning to achieve developed
economic status in 2020.

"It is also action-oriented and performance-based, with well developed and
specific deliverables to grow each NKEA," said Jala.

Under the ETP projections, the gross national income is expected to
increase to close to RM1.7 trillion (US$523 billion) in 2020, raising Malaysia's
per capita income to at least RM48,000 (US$15,000) in 2020 to meet the World
Bank's definition of a high-income nation.

This will require the country to grow six per cent annually between 2011 and
2020.

The initiatives under the 12 NKEAs are to create an additional 3.3 million
jobs, of which, 63 per cent will be in the middle-and high-income segment
compared to the current 43 per cent.

A total funding of over RM1.4 trillion (US$444 billion) is required for the
duration of the economic transformation.

Consistent with the strategy to make the private sector the primary driver
of economic growth, 92 per cent of the NKEA funding will be private investment,
with public funding taking up the remainder.

In addition, domestic direct investment will account for 73 per cent of
total private investment, with the remaining 27 per cent coming from foreign
direct investment.
-- BERNAMA