In his keynote address, Dr. Lim Teck Ghee stated that current Malaysian data and social statistics relating to conventional social and economic development goals face a credibility gap in terms of their quality, independence and integrity. He called for the Malaysian Social Science Association (MSSA) to play a leadership role in ensuring the integrity and independence of official statistics and to help in protecting official data from inappropriate political influence and from being compromised through professional defects, bias, corruption or falsification. He proposed that to improve the level of public trust in official statistics, the MSSA should help to establish a clear series of accountability, responsibility and rules in the form of codes of practice and transparent protocols and procedures to guide the national statistical system towards greater integrity. He also called for the establishment of a scientific social statistical committee that would focus on the integrity and reliability of official statistics and would act as an independent guardian for the larger public interest.
Dr. Lim emphasized that conventional social indicators convey little insight into the most important development challenge facing the country – building an inclusive, fully democratic and culturally diverse society. In a multi-racial, polyglot and multi-religious society, the development agenda has to incorporate social, political and cultural equity targets as important development goals. These goals are at the heart of the unfinished development agenda for the country. Less measurable and more contentious and complex, these goals require urgent attention from all stakeholders. Aside from the political leadership, Dr. Lim singled out a neutral, non-partisan representative civil service as the most important force in accelerating or blocking change in the country towards a fully developed status as envisaged in Vision 2020. He stated that the Centre had recently proposed to the Government a plan for racial intake based on a 60-40 ratio that would facilitate the reduction of identification of the civil service with race, strengthen national unity, and enhance quality and capability. He hoped that this new recruit intake proposal which could be partially financed with private sector funds would receive serious attention from the appropriate authorities. He reiterated the willingness of the Centre for Public Policy Studies to share the details of the proposed plan towards a more representative and world class civil service with all relevant quarters.