Malaysians must change their thinking if they expect positive changes

Malaysians must change their thinking if they expect positive changes

Oriental Daily News, 1 December 2005

According to the guru of creativity, Tan Sri Dato’ Lim Kok Wing, Malaysia must make advances in new areas like software engineering, biotechnology, product innovation and brand development in order to move forward.

No matter what profession you are in, you have to make full use of knowledge gained. It is knowledge that will bring about change. It is wrong to assume that many talented Malaysians are working overseas because there are no promising opportunities for them back home. The brain drain also affects European countries.

“Malaysians are creative. However, they don’t take advantage of the innovation process,” he says.

For instance, owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises are reluctant to invest in training and innovation, which are regarded as extra expenses. They become contented after making money and buying cars or houses.

Tan Sri Lim fears that if the situation does not change for the better, half of SMEs will lose out or shut down in three years. They need to allocate more resources to research, and information and communication technology if they want to acquire the competitive edge.

For Chinese SMEs, a political party can play an effective role in encouraging them to adopt new strategies to move ahead. The computer science and technology evolution is moving at a fast pace and they have to catch up. They cannot stick to old business practices, otherwise they will fall behind.

The alarm bells have already sounded. About nine or 10 years ago, we had advocated the need for a knowledge-economy. The change we have expected has not happened. Instead the country’s competitiveness is sliding.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had already mapped out plans to transform the country’s economic environment. Such plans included the launch of the Multimedia Super Corridor and government efforts to collaborate with the private sector.

For creativity to work, people must change their attitude and systems. It calls for investment in the future. That was why Tun Mahathir wanted to improve the methods of teaching in primary schools, especially in the promotion of creativity among the young. Unfortunately, the bold, new system did not take off after a lapse of four years.

In Western countries, however, governments have gone to great lengths to encourage creativity.

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