Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Asia School of Business – meeting Asia’s increasing demand for talent Remarks by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the Signing Ceremony of the Collaboration between Asia School of Business and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 8 April 2015. *  *  *  President Rafael Reif, Dean David Schmittlein, And dear colleagues from MIT and the Asia School of Business It is my very great pleasure to be here in Cambridge at this ceremony today, for the formalisation of the collaboration between Bank Negara Malaysia and MIT for the establishment of the Asia School of Business in Kuala Lumpur. Bank Negara Malaysia has for more than a decade now, been involved in extensive investment in education – not only for the financial sector, but for the broader economy. Our reach has also not only been for the development of talent from our own country, but it has also extended to the Asian region and beyond. This is based on our conviction that the next generation of talent – whether in the private or public sectors – needs to recognise and understand the dynamics and interconnectivities of the new regional and international environment. In particular, as the pace of economic and financial integration that is now taking place in Asia intensifies, the talent needs to appreciate the implications of the new inter-linkages and its implications.
It is still hotly debated whether these sanctions are necessary and efficient, or on the contrary, whether they are counterproductive for the countries that initiated them. I believe that we should stick to a few simple facts and principles: (i) the surge in the prices of raw materials – primarily of oil – dates back to rumours of war and then to actual invasion in February, not to the sanctions that followed that invasion (ii) in the short term, the Russian economy seems to be losing less ground than expected, precisely because of that surge, but its long-term growth potential is obviously greatly weakened by technological sanctions (iii) there are moments where what is ethically fair prevails over what is economically necessary. Even if from time to time there may be contradictions between the two, a sustainable economy cannot exist without an ethical basis. But justice also enjoins us to deal with the situation of the poorest countries and people in this crisis. The world’s community drive to achieve unity, while respecting diversity, should nevertheless remain widely recognised as an essential aspect of the pursuit of  Page 8 sur 10 the universal common good. The tale of the euro is particularly inspirational in this regard. After several decades of incremental progress and preparation, it began in the 1990s, and it is worth reminding ourselves how far we have come, and the extent to which we owe this unique success to the will of visionary personalities such as Alexandre Lamfalussy or Jacques Delors.