I was reading a page or two of my institute's magazine a few days ago. The cover story was about the graying population and how we should take charge of our financial future.
What struck me was not that Malaysia is fast heading towards an ageing country, or about the high income disparity, or about Malaysia being stuck in the middle income trap.
What struck me was a comment by an economist who's a member of the National Economic Advisory Council, and former Advisor to Bank Negara. He said at a recent conference that Malaysia ranks as one of the highest income disparity economies in Asia. While the service sector is growing, foreign investment is declining. Another danger sign is poor education: advanced economies characteristically have higher-skilled human resources, which are the result of succesful education systems producing good teachers. Educationally, Malaysia has been underperforming in terms of enrolment and output: teachers are not becoming better educated.
I suspected something's not right about the education system. I think more and more ordinary folk feel it too (judging from growing enrolment numbers in non-national schools). The comment above comes from not just anybody, so it carries with it some weight and credibility.
I guess I've to put in more effort in setting a strong foundation for my son!
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