Malaysian Institute of Economic Research

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT: 2011

The year 2010 marks the 25th anniversary. The Institute has been active in its mission as an economic think tank. Its activities have been made possible by the dedication shown by its Executive Director, staff members, associate research fellows and friends of the Institute.

Thanks to careful planning, the Institute has been able to carry out its activities in spite of financial contraints. I would like to put on record here my sincere gratitude to the members of the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Panel for their guidance and contribution throughout the year.

Macroeconomic surveillance and forecasting is an important component of the Institute's activities. It is supplemented by the quarterly surveys - business conditions, consumer sentiments, automotive industry, retail trade, residential property, and tourism market. There is also the quarterly CEO Confidence survey, a co-branding initiative between MIER and Vistage Malaysia Sdn Bhd., which is an organization for chief executives officers. These important activities have contributed much to the Institute's profile. Many Government agencies and institutions, as well as the business community, follow closely the Institute's research and survey findings.

Another core activity is capacity or institutional building and training projects. These projects, which target newly emerging economies, have been found useful in efforts to tackle issues like development planning, human resource development, and economic integration.

To-date, the Institute has been successful in carrying out such projects in Central Asian, Southeast Asian and Africa countries. These projects have helped to enhance the Institute's links with, and reputation in, the aforementioned countries. It is noteworthy that prominent international organisations have often requested the collaboration of MIER in carrying out such projects.

Other equally important projects successfully completed in the year include "Kajian Pembangunan Industri Padi dan Beras Negara bagi mencapai Objektif Dasar Jaminan Makanan Negara" commissioned by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia, and studies pertaining to ASEAN commissioned by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta.

The above activities have help enhance our understanding of the Malaysian and regional economies, and we, in turn, have been instrumental in the successful transfer of knowledge and expertise to the transition economies. Our involvements in these international projects have, needless to say, helped enhance the prestige of MIER overseas.

Today, the Institute boasts, among its many clients, the Government of Malaysia, several state governments in the Federation, as well as domestic corporations. At the international level, several ASEAN governments, and regional and international supranational organisations have consulted with MIER. The institute also organises a high profile annual year-end two-day event in November/December, the successful National Economic Outlook Conference (NEOC).

In addition to its core research activities and the NEOC, the Institute also organises conferences, seminars, workshops, economic briefings, training workshops and MIER Brown Bag Seminars. MIER has also been co-managing the prestigious Asia Oil & Gas Conference (AOGC) with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) for the past several years.

The Institute is always mindful of its responsibility to the local public-at-large. The Executive Director, as well as research staff members, regularly contributes articles on topical issues to the local print media. Besides helping the public to keep abreast of developments in the economy, its also stimulates thinking on economic policy issues. On top of that, the Institute's research staff members also write papers for presentation at conferences organised by other institutions, both at home and abroad.

Local and foreign guests, as well as visitors, frequently stop by at MIER. For a small fee, the Institute provides consultations to organisations seeking advice or alternative views of economic events and issues in the country.

In order to meet the Institute's mandated objectives, it needs adequate funding. Towards this end, fund-raising drive to enhance the MIER Endowment Fund have become a norm at the Institute. We are grateful for the contributions made so far by the Government of Malaysia and corporate benefactors.

We are also grateful to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), which gave tremendous financial and technical assistance from 1987 until the first quarter of 2001, the Government of Malaysia for its strong support, and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) for graciously providing rental-free office space.

The Institute's future research plans points to increasing in-house research projects and other policy studies. One such project in the making is the construction of the "Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model for the Malaysian Economy".

I am confident that as MIER gains in credibility and experience, it will further increase its capacity to fulfil its goals and mandates.

Tan Sri Dato' Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim
22 April 2011

Posted by kala at 01:15 PM on July 05, 2011