This is a report of the proceedings of - Asian Strategy & Leadership ...

THE ASIA THINK TANK DIALOGUE REPORTRebuilding Confidence, Restoring Livelihoods Session Two 21incomes for farmers and the agricultural workforcewere raised through productivity. An institutionalinfrastructure including agricultural banks, aidedrural development• An emphasis on strong institutional support forfarmers and fishermen to support productivity wasalso evident, with micro-credit facilities in placeThe Government also maintained high levels of publicsector investments, channelled towards education andhealthcare, to raise living standards and the quality oflife. This was when access to healthcare, roads andeducation, previously neglected during the colonialperiod, were addressed. New challenges which werefurther complicated by the current economic slowdownnow had to be met:• Rise in income inequalities between communities• Problems of forest-based communities and interiorcommunities. While rural communities in PeninsularMalaya had been addressed in a systematic way,in Sabah and Sarawak, and among the aboriginalcommunity in particular, affirmative action hadbeen lacking, especially in land reform• The initial phase of aggressive state interventionwas more community-based, but the situation hadchanged and there was now a requirement foraction to be needs-based• The digital divide between urban/affluent areas,caused by issues of access and connectivity, haddisplaced poor communities.Dr. Jayasooria forwarded some key strategies to dealwith these challenges, with micro-targeting, and arenewed focus on such specific matters as:• Housing• Integrated land development• People-centred development projects in thevillages and at community level.On the global crisis, he singled out three possible areasof impact on Malaysia with implications for projects thatcould also be undertaken by other Asian countries.• All over Asia, forest-based communities – tribal,indigenous, aboriginal and largely living off theforests – were a community neglected andexploited. They had a right to land, legal rights.• Foreign and migrant workers would be losing theirjobs, and movements of labour were not onlyobserved at the professional level, but also atthe worker level. Issues of labour, protectionism,unions and banking facilities were all extremelyvulnerable in the current situation. There was aneed to establish synergies between the receivingand labour- providing countries. The human rightsof migrant workers were also a matter crying out forattention.• The trafficking of women and children could befurther exploited in the present environment. Manywould come with the promise of good job. Again,there was a need to review the issue of poverty as itwas the root cause of these social issues.