REFLECTIONS ON MAY 9 & THE WAY FORWARD ESSAYS BY DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD, TONG KOOI ONG, JEFFREY CHEAH, YOON CHON LEONG, YEO BEE YIN, RAFIDAH AZIZ, KHAIRY JAMALUDDIN, HAMDAN ABDUL MAJEED, NICOL DAVID, DR NOOR HISHAM ABDULLAH, SHARAN VALIRAM & MORE KingKing Cloud Cloud III III At King AtLiving King we Living don’t we design don’t designfurniture furniture just for just for show. Weshow. design We designfor how for you how really you live. really Look live. no Look no further thanfurther the than award-winning the award-winning King Cloud King III. Cloud III. Built onBuilt King on Living’s King Living’s superior superior steel frame, steel frame, backedbacked by a 25-year by a 25-year warranty, warranty, it features it features smart smart TouchGlide®TouchGlide® Technology Technology that lets that you lets eff ortlesslyyou eff ortlessly recline torecline your tofavourite your favourite position position in seconds. in seconds. 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RATHER THAN GRAND MALAYSIANS OF HEALTHCARE IN BLUEPRINT NEEDED DESERVE AN MALAYSIA ON DIGITALISING THE EFFECTIVE KEY PILLARS OF THE 52. OPPOSITION ECONOMY WE CAN MAKE 80. THINGS HAPPEN THE CONSUMER, 64. THE ULTIMATE 30. AFTER THE RESET, DISRUPTOR IN EDUCATION REFORM 56. WHAT’S NEXT? LUXURY RETAIL FOR A SUSTAINABLE MOVING MALAYSIA FUTURE FORWARD 72. 83. THE COMEBACK OF THE YEAR IN PHOTOS A POWER HOUSE MALAYSIA 6 TURNING POINTS . GLOBAL AGENDA 2019 (68659-K) HUBLOT BOUTIQUE Suria KLCC Tel: (03) 2181 7037 THE HOUR GLASS BOUTIQUE Lot 10 Shopping Centre Tel: (03) 2144 1620 Mid Valley Megamall Tel: (03) 2202 2882 Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Tel: (03) 2148 8930 Starhill Gallery Tel: (03) 2148 0830 Big Bang Meca-10 Ceramic Blue. WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND Blue ceramic case. In-house manual The Gardens Mall movement, with a 10-day power reserve Tel: (03) 2201 6811 and an innovative architecture inspired thehourglass.com by Meccano-type design. Rubber strap. CONTENTS 89 134 103 130 9 7 100 89. THE YEAR IN CARTOONS 94. RECLAIMING REALITY 97. THE VIRTUES OF 107 94 A MORE NATURAL ARCHITECTURE 107. 122. 130. HOW TO SAVE 2018, AS SEEN BY THE COWARDLY THE WEB FIVE ARTISTS FACE OF 100. AUTHORITARIANISM THE ALTERNATIVE TO ARMS 110. 127. THE YEAR IN PHOTOS VENUS WILLIAMS: 134. GLOBAL A PATH TO THE BIG PHISH 103. EMPOWERMENT 20 THINGS THAT HAPPENED FOR THE 118. FIRST TIME IN 2018 THROWING OPEN THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOORS, ONCE AND FOR ALL 8 TURNING POINTS . GLOBAL AGENDA 2019 EDITOR’S NOTE urning Points, a collaboration between ward? What reforms do the people want to see TThe Edge and The New York Times, com- as the government hunkers down to fulfil the prises a collection of articles that look at key promises made during the election campaign? developments, events and trends that spell While eradicating corruption and instituting change and will set a new direction for the true reforms for good governance is a given, year ahead. a top priority must be economic reforms. At The theme of our inaugural issue in 2018 was the end of the day, for the people, everything “Disruption, Disruptors and the Disrupted”. We really comes down to bread and butter issues. asked industry leaders to pen their thoughts History has shown that in many parts of the on technology as a game changer in their re- world, poverty is a cause of social unrest and spective fields, and how it will continue to do discontent. so, going forward. The road ahead will not be easy. The new This year, for Malaysia, we didn’t have to government will have its work cut out. Putting dig very deep to come up with turning points the country’s finances in order is but one of that will define 2019 and beyond. the many major tasks facing the policymakers. To do this, we must start with May 9, 2018. Add to its long to-do list tackling youth un- The 14th general election (GE14) — a momen- employment, reforming the education system tous day that marked what must be one of the and, last but not least, ensuring that Malaysia most significant turning points in the nation’s stays relevant and competitive in an era of history. The booting out of a 61-year-old ruling new digital industrial techonology, in short, coalition, and in its place, a day later, the in- Industry 4.0. stallation of a fledgling new government led More immediately, Malaysia will have to by a seasoned and still sharp-witted politician grapple with fiscal constraints and the mar- — 93-year-old Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. ket turbulence caused by the deferment and As the dust settles on the euphoria of the renegotiation of several big infrastructure people’s victory, 2019 will hopefully see the projects as well as the cleaning up of major beginning of more seismic reforms in the coun- government-linked companies. try — in government, society and the economy. It doesn’t help that the global economy is How do we take this “new” Malaysia for- Continues on page 12 10 TURNING POINTS . GLOBAL AGENDA 2019 EDITOR’S NOTE From page 10 facing mounting headwinds this our spirit and determination to year. Policymakers will face many bring about national recovery,” challenges. Geopolitical tensions, he recalls. a US-China trade war that looks set Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, MP for to escalate further and the end of Setiawangsa and Central Leader- cheap money are but some of the ship Council member for Keadilan, dampeners of growth. believes that to get reforms on Economists see a synchronised track, it must start with the econ- deceleration in growth globally in omy. It is about the economy and 2019, which is set to continue into creating jobs, he says. 2020. This contrasts with 2017/18, On a similar note, Datuk Tong when growth was well spread out Kooi Ong, The Edge Media Group throughout the globe. chairman, concurs that creating The biggest drag will come from jobs and reducing the cost of living slower growth in the world’s two should be at the top of the new largest economies — the US and government’s agenda. To do this, China. In this regard, the consen- he sees the need for a blueprint sus growth forecast for the world on digitalising the key pillars of economy has been revised down- the economy. wards to 3.6% in 2019 and 3.5% in Datuk Yoon Chon Leong, a 2020, from 3.9% in 2018. pioneer in Malaysia’s tech industry Economists have also warned of with more than 40 years of experi- a debt crisis. Several reports have ence under his belt, opines that to pointed out that global debt is now move forward and stay relevant, more than three times the level it Malaysia’s manufacturers must be EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Azam Aris was at 20 years ago. cognisant of the key technological MANAGING EDITOR Anna Taing Rating agency Moody’s, for one, trends in the world and build their EDITOR Jennifer Jacobs EXECUTIVE EDITOR (PRODUCTION) Ooi Inn Leong sees credit risks building up next strategies around them. CHIEF COPY EDITORS Pushpam Sinnakaundan, Mah Pin Pin ASSISTANT CHIEF COPY EDITOR Kenneth Francis Martinus year in some emerging economies This is but just a peek into the SENIOR COPY EDITORS Wong Soon Fah, Marica van Wynen due to slowing growth and tighten- content-rich pages in this issue of COPY EDITOR Lee Mei Geok ART DIRECTOR Sharon Khoh ing liquidity, which will translate Turning Points. A global perspec- ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Lee Wan Yee SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Wennie Heng into higher funding costs. tive on what will shake and rattle ADVERTISING & MARKETING How will Malaysia ride the tide? in 2019 can be found in the second CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER Sharon Teh (012) 313 9056 In the following pages, a select half of this publication. GENERAL MANAGER Kingston Low (012) 278 5540 SENIOR SALES MANAGERS group of contributors share their Indications point to another ex- Fong Lai Kuan (012) 386 2831 Gregory Thu (012) 376 0614 thoughts on a broad spectrum of citing year: trade wars, debt crisis, SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGERS issues that are in sync with this political upheavals. There will be Shafina Syahrir (017) 281 4787 Shannon Leong (012) 677 5345 year’s theme, “Reflections on May no shortage of drama and trauma. ACCOUNT MANAGERS Lee Soo Sin (012) 710 6220 9 and the Way Forward”. How events will unfold, only time Lum Wai Fong (016) 218 5908 Luqman Ab Rahim (017) 629 0297 In “Time to Rebuild”, Prime Min- will tell. Shaun Lee (012) 658 7245 ister Mahathir reflects on May 9 CREATIVE MARKETING Chris Wong (016) 687 6577 HEAD OF MARKETING SUPPORT & AD TRAFFIC and the tension leading up to the Lorraine Chan announcement of the election re- EMAIL [email protected] sults.