that we produce. this helps us cushion the impact of shocks to the economy. our financial system is also more diversified with the development of our capital markets. from financing being predominantly bank - based back in the 90s, we see higher market - based financing of economic activities from the capital markets today. ladies and gentlemen, 9. the malaysian economy is clearly on a stronger footing today. given this, the monetary policy committee ( mpc ) decided to recalibrate the level of monetary accommodation, gradually adjusting the overnight policy rate ( opr ) in may, july and september this year. at the current level, the opr continues to be accommodative and supportive of economic growth. 10. during the pandemic, the opr reached a record low of 1. 75 %. amid lockdowns and border closures, this was necessary to support the economy. the economy was in the icu, and so intensive treatment was needed then. the economy is now back on a strong footing, and the level of unprecedented support is no longer necessary, nor desirable. it is important to remember that there is a cost for keeping rates too low for too long. as we have clearly seen in other countries, this leads to distortions, imbalances, fuels inflationary pressures and weakens their currencies. 11. given the highly dynamic operating environment, the mpc, in formulating monetary policy continues to carefully assess evolving conditions and their implications on the overall outlook to domestic inflation and growth. this is reflected in our mandate where bank negara is entrusted to promote monetary stability and financial stability conducive to the sustainable growth of the malaysian economy. hence, the mpc is not constrained by a pre - determined path for the opr. adjustments to the opr by the mpc will be done in a gradual and measured manner. being preemptive, as we have been, allows us the room to calibrate monetary policy in a more measured manner. 12. this is especially important in this highly uncertain and volatile operating environment. abrupt actions by policymakers and the authorities can have outsized impact on markets and the economy. this will undermine not only the effectiveness of the policy itself but also the credibility of authorities and market confidence. indeed, having well - coordinated policies will not only help us ride out current storms, but also lay the ground for our economy to emerge stronger and more resilient. the market turbulence we saw last week in one of the

s education is observed to be more important than household income for her child ’ s survival ( hdr, 2013 ). 34. the combined expenditure of central and state governments on education is just about 3. 3 per cent of gdp, while that on health is another 1. 3 per cent of gdp. in contrast, the european union countries spend from their general government account, 5. 5 per cent of gdp on education and 7. 5 per cent of gdp on health. canada ’ s public spending on health alone is over 11 per cent of its gdp and that on education is nearly 5 per cent. india needs to step up its public spending on education and health considerably over the next five years. even in the united states, average income of 20 per cent at the top of the distribution is almost 8 times higher than that of bottom 20 per cent. bis central bankers ’ speeches in addition to higher spending, quality of such spending is important. right skilling of our work force by adequate focus on technical education is the need of the hour. our technical institutes should get connected to the industry and the market and take inputs from there. 35. in the face of various constraints, the expenditure by the central and state governments on education alone will not be sufficient to make a difference. the private sector would also need to pitch in for improving the quality of education and educational system in the country. the banks have a very crucial role in facilitating pursuit of education by the resource - constrained youth. as we are all aware, the cost of education, in particular that of higher education, has risen very substantially. this is likely to result in exclusion of poor, but meritorious and deserving youth from obtaining quality education unless suitable funding is made available to them. in the year 2001, indian bank association ( iba ) prepared a model educational loan scheme ( since revised ) which forms the basis for banks ’ loans to students for pursuing various educational courses. rbi, on its part, has permitted banks to classify loans and advances granted to individuals for educational purposes, including vocational courses up to 10 lakh for studies in india and 20 lakh for studies abroad, under “ priority sector ”. further, the loans granted to educational institutions are eligible to be classified as “ priority sector ” advances under micro and small ( service ) enterprises, provided they satisfy the provisions of msmed act, 2006. the banks have been mandated not to obtain collateral security in the case of educational loans up to 4 lakh. 36. the statistics