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Wawasan 2020 was introduced by the current Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad during his previous administration in 1991. Seeing that we are already in 2020, many are on the fence when it comes to deciding whether or not the goals and aspirations of Wawasan 2020 have been achieved. I’m sure many of us remember rigorously memorising Wawasan 2020’s background, objectives, and challenges for SPM Sejarah throughout our upper secondary years. Given that the primary objective of Wawasan 2020 was for Malaysia to join the ranks of developed nations, it is only fair that we evaluate our nation’s performance through this criteria. Unfortunately, referring to the United Nations’ country classifications, Malaysia is still a developing country. According to research conducted in early December of 2019, 40% of Malaysians believe that Wawasan 2020 has been achieved, despite Tun Dr. Mahathir arguing otherwise. 

Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) 2030 or Wawasan Kemakmuran Bersama 2030 was launched in early October 2019. During his speech, Tun Dr. Mahathir, the architect of these two government blueprints, condemned the two previous government administrations that implemented incorrect policies and strategies, leading to the failure in achieving Wawasan 2020. He highlights the provision of financial aid and higher salaries without boosting productivity, making people reliant on cash handouts as an example of failure. Furthermore, he blamed the weak performance of the Malaysian economy on corruption, and called it a ‘cancer that must be cut off and removed’.

As an introduction to this new blueprint, the primary aim of SPV 2030 is to provide a decent standard of living to all Malaysians by 2030 – hence its name. Many may wonder what a ‘decent standard of living’ means and what kind of policies it might entail. In the SPV 2030 official document, a decent standard of living is defined as being financially sufficient to meet basic needs, possessing the capability to participate in social activities, as well as having the ability to lead a meaningful life. 

The SPV 2030 also consists of three supporting objectives: to restructure the national economy, overcome wealth and income disparities, and to build a united, prosperous, and dignified nation. The new vision also focuses on transforming the Malaysian economy from a low-skilled, labour intensive economy to a knowledge-based economy as well as strengthening governance and integrity to mitigate corrupt practices and abuse of power. 

An initiative proposed that is particularly relevant to students is the transformation of human capital, which can be used to improve the quality of the workforce in Malaysia. The government blueprint for SPV 2030 claims that this initiative will be carried out throughout all crucial levels from schooling to entry into the work environment. The main challenge here would be to bridge the gap between the knowledge and skills of fresh graduates with industry needs, and to offer jobs that meet the qualifications and expectations of graduates. To our dismay, news headlines have been highlighting the imbalance between the supply and demand of the labour market within most, if not all industries due to the large influx of fresh graduates.

The initiatives proposed by the government go along the lines of cultivating school students’ interests through career counselling programmes, creation of professional bodies to set curriculum and training courses for graduates to meet industry standards, and encouraging private sector companies to provide industrial training for future graduates. The blueprint also proposes the review of minimum wage and salary policies periodically and expanding the implementation of the Productivity-Linked Wage System. These initiatives are to be put into place due to the unattractive salaries for skilled labour in Malaysia, leading to the infamous ‘brain drain’ issue.

In terms of social wellbeing, SPV 2030 outlines a few thoughtful initiatives to protect those that are economically vulnerable, such as those categorised under the B40 income bracket. For instance, the social security system is to be made more comprehensive and the integration of databases within various ministries and agencies was proposed in order to ensure that assistance can be provided for target groups to overcome inclusion and exclusion errors and ensure that incentives and assistance are provided effectively to the intended groups. Nationwide financial awareness programmes which include financial management awareness campaigns throughout schools, colleges, and universities were also proposed – an initiative we can all benefit from. 

Lastly, similar to the social objectives laid out in Wawasan 2020 such as the creation of a “Bangsa Malaysia”, SPV 2030 aims to cultivate a spirit of diversity amongst the Rakyat. This initiative is highly important given the current state of racial and religious tensions plaguing our country. Unsurprisingly, 67% of Malaysians are worried and feel threatened by a potential outbreak of violent conflict between ethnic groups in the country. One of the most prominent initiatives under this proposal is to revise education curriculum to emphasise the importance of unity and foster a sense of belonging by teaching students to respect differences from a young age. 

In reality, much of the success of the 2030 blueprint is dependent on whether the incumbent government is able to earn the confidence of the public and triumph in the next general election. As history has shown, the 2017 Transformasi Nasional (TN50) was dismantled after the new Pakatan Harapan government took over following their GE14 win. This leaves us with the question, or rather the choice of deciding whether Tun Dr Mahathir’s second vision for Malaysia will be supported and seen through to success.