Kuala Lampur, July 31 -- If economic growth were a person, he would be the country's biggest pop star. He dominates headlines. Everyone talks about him. Everyone feels they have played some part in his meteoric fame.

Yet many wonder whether they will ever get to meet him, let alone benefit from him. For many ordinary families, he remains someone they have only ever seen on their television screen, never at their own dinner table. Even less likely to show up with gifts or a feast to share.

That image of Mr Growth in a sequin jacket, skin-tight trousers, oversized sunglasses, and gleaming leather boots lingered in my mind as I listened to the Governor's opening address at the Sasana Symposium this week.

He mentioned that "the priority no...