Egypt must look to the Malaysian model

Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad has told Arab Today that political stability is a precondition of achieving economic growth in Egypt. Mohamad recently spoke about the Malaysian experience in achieving renaissance and development, at a one-day conference in Cairo. Discussing the opportunity with Arab Today, Mohamad said Egypt could learn from Malaysia's experiences of taking short step towards achieving long-term economic goals. The former Malaysian PM advised President Mohammed Morsi's government to promote values of justice, equality and fairness in the education system to achieve economic prosperity, adding that the Malaysian government had allocated 25 percent of its budget to improve the country's education system. Mohamad also warned the Egyptian government against accepting International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions, claiming that the decision to obtain a loan from the global finance provider could cause problems in the longer run. Malaysia's former prime minister urged Morsi's establishment to create jobs and place their faith in the youth of the country, to see how they work to protect Egypt's national and international image. Mohamad added that dealing with unemployment would also lead to a reduction in crimes. The senior Malaysian politician also advised Egypt to develop industrial instead of agricultural projects, and invite external investors to achieve serious development.