Creating Lasting Change

Date: 19th-22nd November 1990

Kuala Lumpur Hilton
19th – 22nd November 1990.

Key Speakers:

  • Dr Milton Friedman
  • Dr. Krish Pennathur
  • Dr. Curt Nicolin

Registration fee: M$1560 (approx US$580)

The congress was organised in partnership with the National Productivity Centre of Malaysia.
At the time, Tor Dahl was President of WCPS.

The Kuala Lumpur Declaration

We realise that change is constant and eternal, and fundamental for progress. It must be pursued from the perspective of both continuity and change in the quest of progress for the benefit of all people.

We realise such a quest will require acceptance and positive attitudes towards change, and that any gains accrued should be equitably shared by the initiators and implementers.

We believe that the best framework for successful change is one that provides the greatest amount of human freedom. These freedoms include:

  • Equality under equitable laws and rules that protect individual freedom and guard against abuse of such freedom.
  • A market economy where people are free to engage in activities that promote their own best interest without harming the interest of others, allow for competition between suppliers of goods and services, allow for freely chosen political representatives.
  • Protection of individual property and its fair disposal, and high ethical standards of individual and organisational behaviour.
  • Availability of and accessibility to an effective education and training system that meets the needs of all citizens to acquire and practice the knowledge they require to prosper in a changing world.

We believe that education and training is a life-long process of acquiring the knowledge and tools to achieve excellence in all the tasks that people undertake.

We also believe that education must be imbued with values and standards that allow individual human beings to flourish in their chosen fields of endeavour.

We charge the Fellows of the World Academy of Productivity Science and the participants of this congress to work towards the achievement of these noble objectives and help make change into a positive force that will benefit all mankind. The World Confederation of Productivity Science takes great pride in hosting the first meeting of the World Academy of Productivity Science, and witnessing the Inaugural Ceremony for its Fellows on the 19th of November, 1990 in Kuala Lumpur.

This Declaration was sealed and endorsed in plenum at the 7th World Productivity Congress on the 22nd November, 1990.