在过去的几周，我的WhatsApp群组中讨论最激烈的话题之一，就是能否设立一个全国咨询理事会（NCC），以为面对著种种挑战，而有所迷失的我国，寻找新出路。同时，我许多线上的zoom会议，也集中于讨论了诸如重新调整国家方向，制定新的路线图，建立新的马来西亚愿景以及其他类似主题。
社交媒体上的许多评论员认为当下是我国历史上最糟糕的时期之一。由于多重危机影响著我们社会和经济的各个方面，因此迫切需要一个集合我国最聪明的头脑和最受尊敬的人物，尤其是年轻一代，一起集思广意，重塑我们的政治和社会经济政策，并进行必要的改革，更是重中之重。
成立全国咨询理事会
这倡议应从我国第一个全国经济谘询理事会谈起。
全国经济谘询理事会（NECC）于1988年12月成立，以制定1990年后的经济政策来代替1970年代新经济政策（NEP）。这个理事会成员高达150人，由各族群和各地代表，以及来自政治、商业、学术和民间社会各领域的成员组成，经过了2年多的审议，最终达致共识，于1991年2月把报告移交给政府。
这个具有里程碑意义的报告，就是后来的《国家发展经济政策》（Dasar Economic Untuk Pembangunan Negara或DEPAN），于1991年2月正式发布，比第6大马计划公布早几个月，这使一些主要建议得以体现在第6大马计划下。其中一项重要建议就是，在1990年之后省略土著30％的股权这一数字目标，这是NEP政策的基石。
由于NECC报告被《官方机密法令》列为机密文件，因此未公开，并且未对政策制定和整个社会产生持续影响。然而，其对于马来西亚步入新经济政策之后年代，如何在经济领域，甚至关键非经济领域和国家治理方面改进，提出了新方案和突破框框的建议，使该报告成为政府和公众在当下欲重建国家发展时的必读物和参考点。
监督新政策执行
在该份444页报告中的关键建议，至今仍然很重要，就是如何在不损害现有利益的前提下，确保不同社区之间的经济公平和正义，以及实现非种族偏差和更加一体化的经济与社会的目标。
NECC报告建议，新政策不应专注于通过有争议的工具，如种族固打制，来进行重组和再分配，而应将新政策的重点放在以增长为导向的政策上，实现财富的可持续性。
这些方案标志著与NEP的实践方式重大区隔，在NEP实践中，重点往往在于如何操纵NEP和作为政治回报手段，其成果是拼凑出一堆特权和奖励，也衍生出政府内部和外部的既得利益集团。这个因种族偏差的内在弱点，一直是马来西亚在制定和执行社会经济政策的致命弱点。
该报告不仅是对于分配不均课题表达出的自由和中庸立场。它还对就业结构调整，提高公共部门绩效，减少贫困，提升人力资源，纠正公共和私营部门就业不平衡，针对最弱势和边缘化社区以及其他被认为是未来国家经济关键问题提供了无党派的建议。这些问题在今天仍然很重要，需要探讨。
NECC建议中最具突破性的建议，就是设立一个独立且非党派的委员会来监督新政策的执行。
根据NECC的提议，委员会由15至50名有地位的人士组成，这些代表来自多元族群民和各地区，并由国家元首委任，犹如皇家委员会，并将在《国家发展经济政策》实施6个月内成立，并将持续运作，直到拟定下一轮的国家经济政策。
NECC未竟之事
其中一名参与者形容为，“这是1990年后马来西亚国家发展的新范例”，该建议本可以为国家提供一个非政治高层机构，以确保政府政策的实施方式更具问责。其将可制衡不受约束的行政权力和国家关键领域政策的偏差。但是，这些建议从未得到采纳。结果，国家的发展面对了巨大灾难。
今天，一个新的NCC不仅要处理第一个NECC的未竟之事。国家面对著日益严峻挑战。如何减轻疫清对社会经济的冲击？如何落实1963年《马来西亚协定》下马来西亚精神，加强东马的团结和凝聚力？如何确保世俗国下，国家与伊斯兰之间的平衡？这些及其他自第一次全国经济谘询理事会会议上提出后被忽略或忽视的改革问题，都需要国内优秀，有使命的各界人士一些来探讨和解决。
《重启马来西亚》（Rebooting Malaysia）原文：
During the last few weeks one of the most hotly discussed subjects in my whatsapp chat groups has been the possibility of convening a national consultative council (NCC) to help the nation find its way through the jungle of challenges that we are lost in.
At the same time a number of zoom meetings have focused on topics such as recalibrating the nation, setting up a new Road Map, establishing a New Malaysia Vision, and other similar concerns.
Many commentators in social media see this time now as one of the most dangerous periods in our nation’s history. With multiple crises impacting all segments of our society and economy, the urgency for an assembly of the country’s sharpest minds and most respected figures - especially from the younger generation - to reshape our political and socio-economic policies and implement the necessary reforms has never been more important or necessary.
NECC Establishment
This initiative should take up from where the nation’s first national economic consultative council left off.
In December 1988 a National Economic Consultative Council (NECC or Majlis Perundingan Ekonomi Negara) was established to formulate a post 1990 economic policy to replace the New Economic Policy. Comprising 150 members drawn from the nation’s political, business, academic and civil society sectors, this multi-ethnic and regionally representative group deliberated for over 2 years before reaching agreement on its report which was handed over to the Government in February 1991.
The landmark report referred to as the Economic Policy for National Development (Dasar Economic Untuk Pembangunan Negara, or DEPAN), was officially released in February 1991, a few months before the Sixth Malaysia Plan, This enabled some of the major recommendations to be reflected in the plan. One key recommendation was for the omission of the numerical target of 30 percent of equity post 1990 which had been a cornerstone of NEP policy.
Since the NECC report came under the Official Secrets Act, it was not made public and did not have a sustained impact on policy making and on the society at large. However its novel approach and out-of-the-box recommendations on how to move Malaysia into a post NEP era in the economic as well as crucial non-economic and governance sectors makes the report a must read and reference point for the government and public today in any move to reset the nation’s development.
NECC’s Unfinished Business
Key in the 444 page report and still important today were recommendations on how to ensure economic fairness and justice amongst the different communities without compromising on existing rights and the objective of a non-racially differentiated and more integrated economy and society.
Instead of focusing on restructuring and redistribution through contentious instruments such as fixed ethnic numerical targets, the NECC report recommended that the new policy should concentrate on growth-oriented policies to create wealth sustainability.
These approaches signified a major departure from NEP derived practices in which the focus was on manipulation of the NEP and distribution of political rewards with a major outcome being a patchwork of special privileges and rewards, as well as clusters of vested interests, both inside and outside the government. This inherent weakness with its racial slant and emphasis has continued to be the Achilles heel of socio-economic policy making and implementation in Malaysia.
The report contained not only agreement on a liberal and moderate position on issues of imbalances. It also provided non-partisan recommendations on employment restructuring, enhancing public sector performance, alleviating poverty, upgrading human resources, redressing imbalances in both public and private sector employment, targeting the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, and other issues regarded as key to the economic future of the country. These issues continue to be important today and need to be deliberated upon.
The most path-breaking of the NECC recommendations related to the establishment of an independent and non-partisan commission to monitor the implementation of the new policy. As proposed by the NECC, the Suruhanjaya was to consist of between 15 to 50 eminent persons representing the country’s multi-ethnic people and regions. Appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and acting like a Royal Commission, it was to be established within six months after implementation of the new economic policy of DEPAN and would continue work until the next national economic policy was drafted.
Described by one participant as “a new paradigm for Malaysian national development in the post-1990 period”, the recommendation could have provided the country with a non-political high level body to ensure greater accountability in the way government policies were being implemented. It would act as a check on unfettered executive power and deviations of policies in key areas of the nation’s life. However the recommendation was never taken up. As a result the country’s development has suffered tremendously.
Today a new NCC will not only have the unfinished business of the first NECC to deliberate upon. The list of national challenges has grown. How to mitigate the disruptive socio-economic impact of the pandemic? How to bring about the realization of the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 to ensure national solidarity and cohesion with East Malaysia? How to ensure the balance between state and Islam that is consonant with a secular state? These and other reform issues neglected or abandoned since the first national consultative meeting require the best and most committed minds of the nation to address and resolve.
