KUALA  LUMPUR, 13 January, 2012:  30 MBA students from Harvard Business School (HBS) underwent a ten-day immersion programme on the Malaysian economy from Jan 3 to 13.

Hosted by PEMANDU and HBS Alumni Club of Malaysia, the students focused on understanding the fundamentals of the Malaysian economy to “unveil” the Malaysian economy towards becoming a developed and high-income nation.

They were assigned into six groups focusing on different issues to learn about the Malaysian economy, ranging from issues on macro economy to entrepreneurship, electronics, fish farming and tourism to name a few.

The immersion programme was designed to allow the HBS students, led by Prof Diego Cumin, to engage with policy makers, industry leaders and professionals for in-depth analyses of the issues.

At the end of the programme, the students made 10 recommendations to transform Malaysia from being a low middle-income economy to become a high-income nation. These include a broad range of topics from fiscal and monetary to education, innovation and culture.

The recommendations have been presented to the Prime Minister, Dato Sri Najib Razak on 12 January in a lengthy and stimulating session.

On Jan 13, HBS alumni hosted a farewell dinner in Kuala Lumpur for the participants, attended by more than 100 alumni, Malaysian policy makers and business captains.

UTM Vice-Chancellor Zaini Ujang, in his capacity as Vice-President of the alumni attended the event and had the opportunity to discuss the recommendations with Prof Cumin and his students.

According to Andrei Yarmak, an MBA from Belarus, this program is an eye-opening opportunity for him and his colleagues to learn about a prosperous country and an ambitious nation.