Outgoing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today launched a high-level training institute that aims to produce a pool of chief executives for the financial sector and corporations in Malaysia and in Southeast Asia.

The International Centre for Leadership in Finance, set up by the central bank in August as a non-profit organisation with a grant of RM500 million, provides leadership training for directors and chief executive officers.

Mahathir, who is also finance minister, said the development of highly skilled leaders in both the private and public sector was "critical for sustainable economic growth" in the region and would boost Malaysia's aim of becoming a developed nation by 2020.

"We need to build our human capital and that means producing and nurturing our own leaders benchmarked against the best in the world," said the premier, who retires Friday after 22 years in office.

Unique model

Rather than adopting Western business models, he urged the centre to "integrate the ideas of the East and the West to evolve a unique model for leadership development" that would help the region stay competitive in the face of globalisation.

Earlier, central Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz hailed Mahathir's leadership in helping Malaysia through the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis as a mark of his "lasting legacy."

"This is one debt the country will not be able to pay; Malaysia will always be indebted to you," she said, adding that prudent government policies have placed the country's economy on a "solid and steady foundation."

During the crisis, Mahathir refused to buckle to the International Monetary Fund's demands and did the opposite of what they recommended by imposing capital controls, all which have since been lifted, and pegging the local currency to the US dollar.

Zeti told reporters later that signs were good that economic growth this year may surpass the official forecast of 4.50 percent.

"The signs are encouraging," she said.

Mahathir over the weekend was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying that the government "envisages doing much better than the 4.5 percent estimated for the whole year" after gross domestic product expanded by 4.4 percent in the quarter to June. - AFP