A study conducted by the Kuala Lumpur government warns the country that 3 out of 4 Malaysians with high qualifications work in Singapore where they earn much more on average than in Malaysia.
The government set the deadline for 31 December. For some, the date leaves the federal parliament too little time to legislate in such a sensitive matter. Two visions confront each other as to the place of state secularisation and Islamisation.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's plan is to get civil servants to pay into a non-government pension fund, an unpopular move with political risks among voters. Malaysia is not the only country in Southeast Asia facing hard decisions over retirement policies; few governments in the region are ready to deal with an ageing population.
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Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar took office yesterday, two days after being sworn in at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur. Hope for more "interventionism" from the ruler in the nation's turbulent political life. He wants to make his term a time of greater interventionism, including in the economic sphere.
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