Expert Economic Planners

US President Obama visited China last week, primarily to find out what
exactly & how exactly China is doing things that makes it such a
success story, surpassing all the so-called "expert economic planners"
of the US & Europe. His team found these
- it applies equally to our country :

LESSON No 1 - BE AMBITIOUS

The Chinese believe in Setting Goals, Making Plans, & Focusing on
Moving Ahead - there is always the sense of forward motion.

As an example, a huge 6-lane highway in Shanghai took only 2 years
from planning to ready for traffic. In the US, 2 years will only get
you the environment and local authority permit if you are lucky - in
Malaysia in 2 years, they will still be calculating how to inflate the
costs, and to whose abang-adik company to award the project.

LESSON No 2 - EDUCATION
The Chinese are obsessed with ensuring kids get the right education -
English, Maths & Science. They made sure that their education system
reached even the most remote rural areas - today the literacy rate
in China is OVER 90%, surpassing even the USA's 86%. According to
American Educationists, the Chinese kids are way ahead of the kids in
the USA.

Meanwhile in Malaysia, our Moo-Moo politicians are determined to
retract our education system into the stone age.

LESSON No 3 - LOOK AFTER THE ELDERLY

The Chinese DO NOT send their elderly to nursing care centres - they
personally look after & care for their parents. In the US, nursing
care of the elderly is now costing each resident USD 85,000 annually,
& this is rising. The Chinese also believe that the grandparents at
home make the best tutors for their children. It also provides a sense
of cultural continuity - this helps bind society.

Here its a growing trend to have children brought up by maids, of the
lowest educational & moral quality - so our children (the future
leaders) grow up with similar language & outlook capability.

LESSON No 4 - SAVE MORE

In the USA, savings dropped to zero in 2005, and is only now slowly
rising to 4%. In China, the savings rate for every household has
exceeded 20%. The Chinese believe that frugality & a healthy savings
rate are a sure indicator of a country's financial health. High
savings lead to increased investments - results in increased
productivity, innovation & job growth.

In the West, & aped by our Malaysians, the status symbol is to spend
more than you earn, with as many credit cards as possible. In the end,
the whole country gets into debt.

LESSON No 5 - LOOK OVER THE HORIZON

In China, everyone is forward looking - never backwards. New
graduates make a vow - never ever will their children &
grandchildren ever work in the fields again. With this kind of forward
mentality, people are always thinking & planning how, not just to
succeed, BUT how to be the best in the world in everything they do.

In Malaysia, we are still, after 24 years, trying to get the window
switches of the Proton to work properly.