Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Opening Speech by Dato’ Seri Haji Mukhriz Tun Mahathir Chief Minister of Kedah Darul Aman Bismillahirrahmanirrahim His Royal Highness Prince Bandar Bin Salman Bin Mohammed Al Saud Chairman Madinah Knowledge Economic City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prof Dr Noor Azizi Ismail Secretary General World Association of Business Schools in Islamic Countries Official Delegates from State Government of Kedah Darul Aman Distinguished Speakers and Participants Ladies and Gentlemen Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Ladies and gentlemen, I am deeply pleased to be in this prestigious event, and honored by the presence of many distinguished guests, academicians, businessmen and public figures. First, let me congratulate and commend the organiser of the Convention The World Association of Business Schools in Islamic Countries (WAiBS), and the host, Madinah Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship (MILE), for nurturing this important gathering, in the Holy City of Madinah. I am deeply honored to be invited to officiate this event, the 2nd Convention of WAiBS, following the success of the Inaugural Convention of WAiBS, launched by my father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, in 2012. With the theme ‘Enhancing Sustainable Growth in OIC Countries’, this Convention is timely especially amidst the crumbling Western models of business and the greater awareness of the World on the plight of the disadvantaged people and underprivileged countries, who unfortunately, come mainly from the Muslim nations. Ladies and gentlemen, sustaining the growth and development in the global economy has now becoming more challenging. Many OIC countries are experiencing difficulties. From the economic perspective, recent OIC Annual Report (2013) shows the performance of OIC countries is still lagging behind other countries. There are substantial gaps between OIC countries and other countries, and also between OIC countries, as evidenced by the imbalanced ratio of OIC countries in the least developed, low, middle, and high income category nations. Of 57 OIC countries, 21 (of World’s 48) are classified as least developed countries, 18 as low-income, 32 as middle-income, and 7 as high-income countries. Looking deeper, according to IMF Report (2013), most (18) of OIC countries in the upper-middle and high-income categories are fuel-exporting countries. Hence the prospects of growth and development are dependent mainly on the production and export of oil and gas. In terms of Gross Domestic Products (GDP), in 2012, OIC countries contributed only 11.3% of the World GDP. The average GDP of the OIC countries stands at USD5,900 in 2012. Furthermore, the total output and trade of the OIC countries are also heavily concentrated in a few countries. In 2012, 10 member countries accounted for 72.9% of the total GDP and 76.6% of of the OIC countries total merchandise exports. In terms of labour productivity, an average worker in OIC countries produces less than one-third of the output compared to the world level. OIC member countries are also experiencing higher inflation and umployment rates, enduring problems of poverty, excessive debt burdens, etc. These problems are further worsened by regional and global financial crises, and other complicated and burdensome issues. There are many factors that may contribute to the poor economic performance of the OIC countries. One crucial factor is education. Education is the cornerstone of human capital formation and is central to the development of a society. A pool of competent entrepreneurs, managers and leaders are important to drive economic growth and sustainability. Ladies and gentlemen, let us now look at the education aspects of OIC countries. In 2010, the average government expenditure on education in OIC countries was 3.8% of the GDP, compared to 4.5% of other developing countries, 5.1% of developed countries, and 5.0% of World. The Gross Economic Expenditure on R&D (GERD) for OIC countries was only 2.1% of the World total compared to other developing countries (9.4%), developed countries (10.4%), Japan (10.9%), China (12.3%), EU (23.2%), and USA (31.7%). In terms of Human Resources in R&D, the average number of researchers per million people in OIC countries is only 457, compared to the World average at 1,549. For comparison, Singapore has 6,953 researchers per million people, South Korea (7,179), EU (4,651), and Iceland with the highest number at 13,101. Only six OIC countries have more than 1,000 researchers per million people (in descending order): Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Egypt. In terms of scientific articles published in international journals, the number of articles published by 57 OIC countires is only equivalent to one country like Germany, England and Japan. The good news is, the number of articles published have increased by four fold from 20,224 in 2000 to 92,503 in 2010. However, it is dominated by only five countries (Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, Egypt and Pakistan) that account for 70% of all articles published. Looking at the innovation aspect, OIC countries are again lagging other countries. OIC countries accounted for only 1.7% of estimated 1.98 million patent applications filed in 2010 compared to USA (24.8%), China (19.8%), Japan (8.6%), South Korea (8.6%), Germany (3.0%). In terms of Hi-Tech export (HTE), 57 OIC countries contributed only 4.2% of the World total compared to Singapore (7.2%), Japan (6.9%), South Korea (5.3%), China (23%), EU (32%), and USA (8.3%). Malaysia accounts for nearly 81% of the total HTE of the OIC in 2010, followed by Indonesia, Khazastan and Turkey. Despite the poor performance of OIC countries, we can see that some countries have optimistic experiences to share, and from which useful lessons can be drawn to shape the future economic scenario in other OIC countries. These scenarios signify the importance of this Convention to generate essential inputs to our efforts towards securing better and sustainable economic growth of OIC countries. In this regard, I believe business schools can play an important role by imparting relevant knowledge and skills to students, and importantly, by nurturing not only responsive but also responsible future business leaders. This can be achieved via smart partnerships between business schools, government agencies and corporations. Despite the “brains” that business schools can provide, they will not be able to work effectively without strong support and commitment from the government agencies and private sectors. Therefore, striking a common ground between the three parties should be established as they are, by nature, different in perspectives, orientation and outlook. For example, whilst the private sector should realize that social activities and programs to assist the needy and the disadvantaged may not able to help them make profit in the short-term, the long-term benefit is numerous. In this context, a socially responsible corporate organization is one that not only makes money but also the one that builds bridges and relationships. Business schools, on the other hand, should not merely think of themselves as the noble gatekeepers of knowledge but more importantly as important agents of social change. I believe WAiBS can play an important role in bringing Muslim scholars to work together in as many areas as possible toward the common goal of assisting the Muslim people uplift their life and ultimately restore Muslim dignity and identity on the World stage. To do this, it is imperative that Muslim scholars put aside their differences and work in concert for the sake of Islam. There may be sibling rivalry, nonetheless, true Muslim brothers and sisters do not sever their relationship with one another. It is within this spirit that I hope the Association can play its role in consolidating strategic initiatives of various business schools in OIC countries toward the accomplishment of this noble purpose. Ladies and gentlemen, without doubt, Muslims have a long way to go before we can regain respect and admiration from the rest of the World, as we used to command before. The foundation of WAiBS is, I believe, a move in the right direction. Muslim scholars in business schools, with the strong support from relevant government agencies and corporations, have so much to offer back to the community, as part of their social responsibility. The days of Muslim academics and scholars working in isolation from the realities are obsolete; they need to go down to the ground and experience for themselves about what is happening at the grassroots level. In this way, they can offer their expertise to help solve pressing issues faced by the Muslim World today. Their knowledge and perspectives can enrich our way of life based on the principles of Islam and better models of understanding the realities could be offered, as a viable alternative to the existing Western ways of seeing and doing things. Taking this opportunity, I wish to mention about the steady increase in intraOIC trade in the course of the recent years. Like many other OIC countries, Malaysia, and in particular the State of Kedah, offers plenty of business opportunities supported by dynamic business environment, technological advancement, well-developed infrastructure, and our greatest assests, human resources. Therefore, I would like to invite investors to visit our beautiful country, Malaysia and the State of Kedah. Last but not least, I wish to congratulate again the efforts made by WAiBS for being able to bring together various Muslim scholars from business schools in Islamic countries to discuss ways on how to uplift the Muslim ummah toward greater heights. Being the Chief Minister of the State Government of Kedah, where Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) is located, I am proud to mention the initiative taken by the university (together with other five co-founders) to established WAiBS. My appreciation also goes to the support of the private sectors that are moved by the cause and hope that many more private sectors will come forward and join this noble effort. …Bismillahirrahmanirrahim…I hereby officially launch the 2nd Convention of the World Association of Business Schools in Islamic Countries (WAiBS).