KUALA LUMPUR: Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Shah has called for Malaysia to modernise and raise the quality of education at every level, including through the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
His Royal Highness said strengthening technical education must remain a priority to ensure graduates’ skills stay aligned with industry needs.
“Modernising and improving the quality of education, for example, leveraging generative AI tools, should be a priority at all levels.
“The quality of our labour force will be critical in adapting effectively to future challenges.
“Institutional adjustments will also be required to arrest and reverse our chronic brain drain,” Sultan Nazrin said when launching the book Chronicling Themes in the Economic and Social History of Malaysia here yesterday.
The Ruler said Malaysia’s aspiration to become a fully developed and high-income nation requires adapting to a global environment characterised by economic fragmentation, rising populism and new opportunities in services and productivity growth.
“If we succeed in making the bold domestic policy choices required to accelerate productivity growth and promote further structural shifts, we will be even better placed to take advantage of the opportunities these turbulent times present,” Sultan Nazrin said, Bernama reported.
Earlier, His Royal Highness recalled establishing the Economic History of Malaysia (EHM) Project at Universiti Malaya 25 years ago to compile historical economic accounts of Malaya’s GDP in the early 20th century.
These findings were later published in Sultan Nazrin’s 2017 book Charting the Economy.
His Royal Highness said the project expanded its outreach in 2016 through a dedicated website containing a large economic and population database, as well as access to digitally archived British Colonial Office documents.
“The EHM website hosts articles by eminent scholars on the economic and social history of Malaysia. More than 60 have been uploaded thus far.”
From these articles, 35 were selected for the new book, covering themes of economic development, social development and the evolution of states and cities.
Sultan Nazrin said understanding a nation’s economic and social history is essential in shaping effective policies.
“Policies are not conceived and implemented in a vacuum. Context matters. History matters. Culture matters, as does institutional capacity.”
Sultan Nazrin also said the book traces Malaysia’s transformation from colonial rule to independence and examines key episodes, including British governance of the tin and rubber sectors, the Japanese occupation, the Emergency, the New Economic Policy and Malaysia’s structural shift from agriculture to modern industries and services.
The chapters also address contemporary issues such as the middle-income trap, education challenges, women’s contributions to development, the rise of Kuala Lumpur as a major Asian city, and Penang’s progress as a global electrical and electronics hub.
Sultan Nazrin also expressed appreciation to the authors and publisher, adding: “I hope you will enjoy reading this book as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.”
