Abdullah Committed To Vision 2020
Bernama – 4/4/2006
KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Monday night he is committed to the objectives of Vision 2020 to make Malaysia a developed nation by 2020 though the vision is the icon of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said there was no reason for him to create a new vision just for the sake of promoting himself.

Vision 2020 was spawned when Dr Mahathir was in the government and he (Abdullah) was a member of that government (Cabinet) then, the Prime Minister said during an interview with Datuk Johan Jaaffar on the Ninth Malaysia Plan on the "Di Sebalik Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan (RMK9)" programme over Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).

Abdullah was asked why he carried on with Vision 2020 when it was linked to Dr Mahathir when he could have selected a new icon that could be related to him (Abdullah).

"We have been working in various ways for the last 15 years towards attaining the objective. There is only the other half of the way to go. Therefore, there is no reason for me, at the highway point, to introduce a new vision just for the sake of using my name.

"Whereas, I have already committed myself to the struggle to raise the status of the people and nation to a developed one in 2020. That is my commitment," he said.

Abdullah said Dr Mahathir had also shared his commitment to achieve that objective when he launched the vision.

Last Friday, the Prime Minister tabled in the Dewan Rakyat the Ninth Malaysia Plan which provides for a development expenditure of RM200 billion for the five-year period from this year, the allocation being RM30 billion more than that under the eighth plan.

Abdullah said the ninth plan was different from the previous development plans because it was part of the national mission that involved all the people in achieving the objectives.

He said he viewed the ninth plan as having been drawn up in totality and not as a plan that was drawn up only according to certain sectors.

"In my long experience in the government, the documents (on previous Malaysian development plans) contained chapters, such as on the economy, manpower development, welfare and finance.

"For this (ninth plan), we have not divided it into such chapters. With such chapters, it will only be like the usual plans ... one chapter ... one chapter ... one chapter. A person can go straight to the chapter on the economy, for example, without looking at the other chapters. He will not look at the other sectors," he said.

Abdullah said he gave emphasis not in terms of chapters and sectors but on the foundation, strategies and actions in achieving the mission in totality.

The Prime Minister said the country had enough funds to support the RM200 billion five-year development plan and added that there were additional funds from the private sector as well. He also said that government's prudent expenditure policy would continue to be implemented.

Abdullah also touched on the importance of human capital, saying the implementors of the mission had to be strong in terms of knowledge and physical and moral attributes.

Abdullah said that at the end of the ninth plan period, the government would evaluate any shortcoming and weakness in the plan for improvements to be made to 10th and 11th plans, the two more phases under the national mission before the country achieved the desired developed nation status.

He said the survival of the nation would only be guaranteed when the people and the country achieved strength.

He said the survival of the nation was more important than the survival of the self because when everybody thinks of survival of the nation it would be for the common objective.

"We cannot remain in a cocoon. We cannot plan, think and decide only in our environment, alienated from the outside world. As though, we have no interests, being contended with our own environment. That will not do," he said.

The Prime Minister said external factors had been taken into account, as far as possible, in drawing up the ninth plan as well as the national mission.
Source: Bernama | www.bernama.com