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by our distinguished international speakers, so that we can take a leaf PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS :
from their experience and wisdom.
NATION PATH THROUGH
At the same time, to drive the transformation, there must be a
competent workforce that can support, and most importantly, sustain THE NEXT DECADE
this agenda. Undeniably, the organisation or individual that makes
up the workforce must have sufficient knowledge of the tasks to be
undertaken and the risks involved, and the experience and ability
to carry out their duties and recognise their limitations. As the theme
of this Conference suggests, excellent service can only be achieved would like to thank the Razak School of Government (RSOG) and the
by workers who are competent. Which then brings us to a broader Malaysian Directors Academy (MINDA) for inviting me to deliver this
set of questions: How do we develop a competent workforce? I special address on “Public-Private Partnerships: Nation Path through the
Are our schools and universities preparing individuals to enter the Next Decade”. I am very delighted to be here today for the International
workforce and equipping them with the right skills set? And are our Directors Summit 2015 as I believe it is always relevant to share Malaysia’s
own organisations providing learning opportunities which will lead to experience on Public-Private Partnership (PPP), and our way forward with
improved workplace performance? the private sector and movers and shakers in the industry.

I am highlighting these questions as I would like you to ponder on them PPP has been pivotal in Malaysia’s growth and economic development
during the course of this Conference, if not for the next few days. It is my since the early 1980s, and forums such as this promote dialogue between
hope that they can become useful discussion points in your conversations the public and private sector. Today, I will touch on the brief history of
throughout the day, and inspire a deeper insight and meaning to the PPP in Malaysia, the current status of PPP and our success stories before
theme chosen for this year. explaining Malaysia’s way forward in PPP, particularly in terms of PPP’s role
in achieving the country’s development objectives.
Before I end, I would like to once again record my appreciation to the
Sarawak State Secretary for inviting me to be a part of this Conference. Malaysia’s economic landscape from 1957 until the late 1980s was very
I sincerely hope that this Conference will be able to provide all of you much agriculture-based and labour intensive, with rubber and tin as the
with new learnings on public sector transformation initiatives, and an main export, and manufactured goods mainly imported from Britain.
opportunity to share ideas and experiences towards innovative high Today, Malaysia’s export also includes palm oil, petroleum and liquefied
performance service delivery. I wish all of you a fruitful and beneficial petroleum gas. The country is also a major exporter of manufactured goods.
Conference. Trade and industrialisation have largely contributed to Malaysia becoming
an upper middle income country, with GDP per capita at RM34,123 as of
2014.

Policies introduced by the Government in the 1980s have facilitated the
industrialisation of Malaysia’s economy. Malaysia realised that in order to
develop trade and industry, infrastructure has to be developed too, and there
is a limit as to what the Government can do and deliver in order to meet
growth and development needs. Realising the importance of the private
sector to the economy, policies were put in place to promote private sector
growth and facilitate public-private partnership. Hence, the Privatisation
Policy and Malaysia Incorporated Policy were introduced in the 1980s. To
strengthen its implementation, the Privatisation Master Plan was launched

Opening Speech at the Sarawak Public Sector Conference 2014: Service Excellence Through Competent Workforce.
25 November 2014, Kuching, Sarawak.

114 Humanising The Public Service : A Compilation of Speeches by the Chief Secretary to the Government 115