{"id":35963,"date":"2014-12-09T17:39:15","date_gmt":"2014-12-09T22:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=35963"},"modified":"2014-12-09T17:39:15","modified_gmt":"2014-12-09T22:39:15","slug":"former-malaysian-pm-mahathir-mohamed-suggests-sri-lanka-follow-malaysia-as-development-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=35963","title":{"rendered":"Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamed Suggests Sri Lanka Follow Malaysia as Development Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Marisa Wikramanayake<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka should look towards the East for a model on development as Malaysia successfully did, according to the latter\u2019s iconic former leader Dr. Mahathir Mohamed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are very interesting times for Sri Lanka because it is accelerating its development,\u201d Malaysia\u2019s former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed said during his keynote at the Hambantota Conclave 2014 held at the BMICH in Colombo last evening.<\/p>\n

The event was organised by the Urban Development Authority and the Board of Investment and showcased the potential investment opportunities to an audience of over 350 business people.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dr. Mahathir Mohamed stated that when Malaysia was developing, its Government found that Japan and Korea were developing faster than Western nations were and opted to follow their lead. He said that the work ethics of a nation\u2019s population had a large impact on how fast it would develop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking for models of development that we could copy to increase the development of Malaysia,\u201d he said. \u201cThe East presented a much better model for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also argued that stability was important: \u201cA country that is stable and peaceful is much easier to develop than one that is in turmoil.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained how the Malaysian Government opted to open up land, improve agriculture, industrialise and invest in technology but also create opportunities for investment where there previously were none by designating the archipelago Langkawi as a tax free island and a tourist destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cTourism is a good business,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt has many beneficiaries \u2013 from service providers, to taxes for the government and when people buy goods, then the retailers and wholesalers benefit as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also encouraged the private sector to be more involved in the nation\u2019s development. \u201cInfrastructure itself contributes to economic growth,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should let the private sector develop the country with the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that Malaysia had followed this by privatising road transport, building a major highway and allowing tolls to be collected, enabling new towns and jobs to be created.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have a system of cooperation between business and government,\u201d he said. \u201cUsers pay but non users don\u2019t pay; the companies gain sufficient money to develop the roads and the country then develops.\u201d<\/p>\n

MP for Hambantota Namal Rajapaksa welcomed Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, thanked him for his advice on development and noted that it would be useful for the Hambantota development plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Hambantota offers today is a unique centre for investment opportunities in a land known for being part of the ancient Silk Route and is now within waving distance of the modern-day Silk Route,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:DailyFT<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Marisa Wikramanayake Sri Lanka should look towards the East for a model on development as Malaysia successfully did, according to the latter\u2019s iconic former leader Dr. Mahathir Mohamed. \u201cThese are very interesting times for Sri Lanka because it is accelerating its development,\u201d Malaysia\u2019s former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed said during his keynote at …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamed Suggests Sri Lanka Follow Malaysia as Development Model’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35966,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35963\/revisions\/35966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}