Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamed (Photo: Reuters)
Egyptians must understand the thin line between using freedom and abusing it, the latter of which will have negative repercussions for the country, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamed said on Sunday.
Speaking at a Cairo conference organised by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party to discuss the "Malaysian renaissance experience," Mohamed said it was important for political players in a democracy to accept electoral losses, or else any subsequent government will be preoccupied with politics rather than economic development.
Mohamed summed up his country's experience in economic transformation, highlighting the role of the private sector in achieving development.
"The private sector is the generator of wealth. The government by itself can't create wealth; therefore, they have to cooperate together," he said.
Malaysia encouraged foreign investment in labour-intensive industries – especially electronics – to create jobs, according to Mohamed, while reforming its education system to develop labour skills that would allow it to produce high-technology and IT products for export.
"We didn't have the expertise or management skills needed, so we invited foreign investors and created a good environment for them with government support," Mohamed explained.
Mohamed was the longest-serving prime minister of the majority-Muslim state of Malaysia, occupying the post from 1981 to 2003. His tenure was defined by numerous and substantial infrastructure projects.
Coming to power after Egypt's 2011 revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood hopes to emulate Mohamed's strategy of partnership with the private sector, which it sees as being in line with its economic policies.
"The Malaysian experience is the first to see a Muslim country transform from an underdeveloped state to a developed state," senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat El-Shater said. "It has several aspects that we can make use of."
The Muslim Brotherhood needs political consensus to pass what are seen as unpopular measures required to rein in a widening budget deficit and obtain a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help shore up falling foreign currency reserves.
Mohamed stressed the importance of maintaining political stability as a condition for economic development that must enjoy "general consensus."
"Egypt's population is three times Malaysia's, so your problems are three times bigger than ours," Mohamed said. "But you have one advantage: your people are homogenous with the same culture."
"Your initial objective should be to generate wealth," he added, addressing businessmen and politicians attending the conference.
Poverty rates in Malaysia had plunged from 70 percent to 5 percent, according to Mohamed.
"I believe the Egyptian people realise the difficult position they are facing and they aren't shy about asking other countries to learn from their experiences," Mohamed said.
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