KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Bernama) -- The economic regime under the New Economic Model (NEM) will be more entrepreneurial, innovative and focused on achieving higher levels of quality, efficiency and value-addition, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said. In stating this, he urged the private sector and government to work hand-in-hand to ensure that the country has the resources and products to compete successfully in the international market.

"The government's role is to serve as a facilitator, and you can be assured that we will do our best to provide the infrastructure and the business environment for you to operate," he said in his speech at the Industry Excellence Awards 2009 organised by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) on Thursday's night.

Najib's speech was read by Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

The prime minister said the private sector should also demonstrate an equal commitment to aim high to become more efficient to produce better quality products and be competitive on the world stage.

There should also be less reliance on subsidies to support economic activities, he said.

"Subsidies distort market reality and discourage us from becoming truly competitive," Najib said.

Open-ended subsidiaries along with low skills and low technology manufacturing will be a thing of the past and the industry mind-set has to change to focus on advanced manufacturing, he stressed.

He also called on the small and medium industries (SMIs) to do more investment on research and technology as well as human capital.

"SMIs must adopt modern technology, improve quality and become more efficient. In short, to become world class players in your respective fields," he said.

The government will soon be announcing a number of policy initiatives to improve the nation's economic competitiveness.

-- BERNAMA