A big fat ‘F’ for Fail: The ETP has failed to meet its targets

 

Rather than address the core issues impeding growth, PEMANDU continues to practise perception manipulation and deception in its efforts to hoodwink Malaysians into believing it has reached or exceeded its targets. 

REFSA (Research for Social Advancement) 

This is a statement by not-for-profit research institute REFSA (Research for Social Advancement) released on Wednesday, 20 March 2013.

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We are dismayed to find perception manipulation and deception still surrounds the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). The mainstream media today is full of praise and claims of excellent performance and transformation. This is exactly the opposite of the true picture. Today, REFSA draws attention to 3 points:

1. Real national income growth has been pedestrian at under 5% per year, well below the 6% targeted by the ETP. PEMANDU is manipulating perception by trumpeting nominal GNI (Gross National Income) numbers, which include inflation, and in US$, which are irrelevant to the vast majority of Malaysians;
2. PEMANDU still cannot get its basic math and data right. It said (nominal) GNI per capita hit US$9,970 in 2012, but also said it was RM30,809 and the exchange rate was RM3.058:US$1. However, at that exchange rate, RM30,809 is equivalent to US$10,075. It is shocking that this high-powered unit cannot even get the basics correct;
3. Based on Department of Statistics data, nominal GNI per capita grew an average of just 7.4% per year from 2009 to 2012, which is less than the 8.2% per year average growth rate registered from 2001 to 2010. PEMANDU and the ETP came into force in 2010. In short, the ETP and PEMANDU have failed to increase our GNI per capita above its long term growth trajectory. 

Failed: Reaching the target to grow national income by 6% per year

“Propelling Malaysia towards becoming a high-income developed nation” as promised by the ETP requires Gross National Income (GNI) to grow by 6% per year. PEMANDU [1] gave much prominence to this 6% per year growth target in its “A Roadmap for Malaysia” report that launched the ETP with much fanfare in 2010 [2].

However, the just published 2012 Annual Report of the ETP makes not a single reference to the fact that the ETP failed to meet this crucial 6% per year growth target last year. The fact is, real GNI grew by a pedestrian 4.3% in 2012 [3], well below PEMANDU’s aspirations and even lower than the 4.9% recorded in 2011.

Whatever happened to the 6% growth target trumpeted by the ETP on its launch?