Tan Sri Dr Ramon Navaratnam is a prominent Malaysian economist. He is the former Transport Ministry Secretary-General and current Sunway Group corporate advisor. He is of Sri Lankan Tamil descent.
Ramon is also currently a member of the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) and the president of Transparency International Malaysia. He is a member of the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) Globalisation Committee and Director of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli).
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Ramon says his empathy for those less fortunate was sparked in 1943, at the age of eight, when he began working as an office boy for the Japanese Road Transport Department in Ipoh.
“I ran errands, dusted desks, swept the floors, and dispatched letters to other government departments. Being eight years old and having to work for a living, you would develop a sensitivity to misery, hunger and people struggling for a living. You develop a compassion for the poor and marginalised," he said in an interview.
Ramon completed his secondary studies at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur. He worked hard to earn himself a partial scholarship to the University of Malaya in Singapore, where he pursued a degree in Economics in 1959.
After graduation, he began working as Assistant Secretary in the Health and Social Welfare Ministry.
In 1969, he went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Harvard University, Massachusetts, on a full university scholarship.
He was at the time employed in the Economic Division of the Treasury and, upon returning, rejoined it. Shortly after, he became its deputy head.
In 1971 and 1972, he was selected to represent Malaysia as alternate executive director in the World Bank in Washington DC.
His post required him to travel to South-East Asian countries, where he helped to brief officials on developments in World Bank policies and the progress of their applications for loans.
Ramon worked his way up to the posts of Deputy Secretary-General of the Finance Ministry in 1979, and then to his final posting within the Government, as Secretary-General of the Transport Ministry in 1986.
He retired from government service in 1989.
Ramon Navaratnam played an important role in the economic development of Malaysia. His 30-year career in the public sector and 15 years in banking and business enable him to offer both a broad perspective as well as an insider’s view of management practices in these different sectors.
His work in Government brought him into contact with the Commonwealth Consultative Group for Technology Management (CCGTM) and the early development of its cooperative work in Malaysia, one result of which was the creation of the Malaysian Industry – Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) based on a “prospecting process” of which he is still a Director.
Tan Sri Navaratnam has played a significant and valuable part in many of the measures taken in Malaysia to create the economic growth and political stability for which it is renowned. He has also made important contributions to the recovery from the financial crisis of 1997. He is a regular contributor to the Media
Tan Sri Navaratnam is speaking at The OXCEL Business Conference: Success During Crisis www.oxcelconference.com on the 12 November 2008 and will be sharing his views on the 'Economic Outlook: What it means for you and me' it will be at the Securities Commission in Bukit Kiara. The conference is jointly organised by The Oxford Centre for Leadership (OXCEL) and Institut Bank Bank Malaysia. This conference was organised to address the political, economic and financial issues that are currently besetting the Malaysian economy.
Ramon is also an author of several books on the Malaysian economic development, including Managing the Malaysian Economy, Strengthening the Malaysian Economy, Healing the Wounded Tiger: How the Turmoil is Reshaping Malaysia, Malaysia's Economic Recovery, Malaysia's Economic Sustainability, Malaysia's Socioeconomic Challenges - Winds of Change and A Memoir: My Life & Times.