KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has pledged to spearhead the nation’s development together with members of the administration, towards a better future for Malaysia.
He said this is based on his confidence that Malaysia is on the cusp of a massive change that will take place soon.
He said, in order to succeed in national development, the government needs the confidence of its people in the nation’s ability to progress.
“Why do we have transformation policies? Why do we develop ‘infra-rakyat’ projects? Why do we effect change? This is so that we can bring Malaysia out from the old and into the new.
“This is so that Malaysia is respected internationally, so Malaysia can compete, so Malaysia is successful and that no individual is left behind,” he said.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said 2017 is was an great year for the country, with outstanding achievements which led to the World Bank revising its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projections not once but three times for the country.
He said Malaysia also recorded a growth rate of 5.9 per cent, among the highest in the world.
This achievement, he said, was largely due to the success of the national transformation policies and improvements done by the National Transformation Programme, which created a solid economic foundation as a whole.
“This move bore fruit. We had a low inflation rate, we prepared many job opportunities. This was acknowledged by the ratings bodies.
“Ratings bodies such as the World Economic Forum has ranked Malaysia in 23rd place in terms of competitiveness. In fact, the national happiness index rose from 42 to 35.
Najib pointed out that the NTP’s success is not just seen in micro figures but also tangible improvements such as that seen last year, with the launch of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 1 a year ahead of schedule, and at RM2 billion less than the budget.
"In six more years, the entire Klang Valley would be connected," he said.
Najib also pointed out that NTP has bore fruit through the various 'infrarakyat' projects such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) that is set to transform the east coast states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan, among others.