Do we still need to depend on the E&E sector for economic growth?

The mainstream papers have all covered the state of the Electrical and Electronics Industry in Malaysia,(see links below), and considering the serious implications of any decisions that have to be made with National interests in mind, I think the Government should, in its new Economic Model to be presented soon, take into account whether FDIs from the Electrical and Electronics Industry is well worth the gains over its negative effects.

Points to Ponder:

• In the 70's and 80's the overwhelming reasons for the encouragement of FDI from the electronics Industry is that it will spur rapid growth in our nascent economy, and it will in addition provide tremendous employment opportunities for our relatively young nation. I remember, for example, a change of shift workers(operating a 3 shift day) in Motorola required more than 40 factory buses just to transport the ending shift workers out of the factory. Imagine the direct social benefits and its positive spillover effects of such vigorous activities.
  
• Oil was not expensive then, and our wages very low, in real terms. There was real benefit to the nation then, and Malaysia provided the Japanese and American companies with a low cost production environment to the burgeoning Electronics Industry worldwide. Hundreds of thousands of Malaysians with little education, but with relatively good English skills found stable employment. And the country benefited tremendously.
  
• Fast forward to 2010. The electronics Industry is being subsidised on its fuel costs, while the Govt is deliberating removing fuel subsidy altogether, or just restrict it to citizens
• Workers at the factories are mainly foreign (Vietnamese?), and for various reasons, the main one, being low wages, local citizens are not available. Can it be that we are losing in terms of skills and language mastery to foreigners to the extent that jobs that have been especially created for locals are now up for grabs by foreigners
• If this be the case, are there now more Cons than Pros in protecting and encouraging foreign FDIs for the Electronics Industry into our country? Can we absorb any more foreign labour without serious deleterious social effects (housing and environmental degradation, crime, clash of cultures, sharing of limited resources like land, food and potable water, etc). Do the economic gains far outweigh the damage done to our country?
  

Malaysia risks losing Japanese FDIs

Freeze on Foreign Labour hits Electronics Industry

Japanese firms concerned over subsidy system

I sincerely hope the NEM that will be announced soon will address these issues, not just about protecting Malay rights! We risk being called the 'basket case' of South East Asia