PETALING JAYA, Dec 10 — Malaysia cannot afford to neglect human rights if it hopes to achieve its goal of becoming a high-income developed nation by 2020, a senior United Nations (UN) official said last night.

UN resident coordinator for Malaysia, Michelle Gyles-Mcdonnough, said any country aiming to break out of the middle-income trap needs to harness the potential of each citizen, and that can only be possible through giving equal treatment for all.

“With the many achievements that Malaysia has made, this next leg of the journey, at the heart of it is human rights. You cannot go that next leg of the journey without imbuing each and every citizen with the dignity and work they are entitled to,” she added during a public forum in conjunction with World Human Rights Day 2014.

Malaysia’s next 5-year road plan is due next May and will outline the country’s final transformation process towards a high-income developed nation. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said the plan spanning 2016 to 2020, would focus on high-impact, low-cost projects and ensure their efficient and speedy implementation.

Gyles-Mcdonnough said last night that notching impressive statistics — such as reducing the poverty rate to below 2 per cent from over half the population decades earlier — does not guarantee that a country will achieve developed nation status.

A key aspect is for the government to be “honest and responsive” in taking a rights-based approach in shaping the country, she said.

“It means everybody has to find a place, no matter your religion, your sex, your gender identity, your colour... whatever it is, you’ve got to find a place and you’ve got to have equal access to opportunity and choice.”

Gyles-Mcdonnough said Putrajaya’s goal of achieving developed nation status by 2020 was ambitious but “doable”.

She, however, stressed that the deadline should not be a definitive measure of Malaysia’s progress, as the country’s overall development is more important.

“Even if we don’t make it, I think if the country can move even three quarters along that journey, many people’s lives would have changed.

“So let’s not focus on whether it’s doable or not. Let’s just keep our eyes on the prize and keep going,” she said.