KUALA LUMPUR: Institutional reforms implemented by the government are a launch pad for the country to achieve more sustainable and equitable long-term economic growth, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The prime minister said the government had worked hard since securing the mandate in the General Election in May 2018, in implementing these institutional reforms to combat corruption, protect liberties, enhance governance and restore the health of public finance.
In the foreword of the Economic Outlook 2020 released by the Ministry of Finance today, he said these reforms were being carried out to regain the people’s trust in public institutions and restore Malaysia’s reputation in the eyes of the world.
Dr Mahathir stressed that if Malaysia was to become a stable and developed economy, the dividend from the country’s growth must be felt by all segments of society.
“Our reforms have borne fruits and made our economy more resilient in the face of external pressures, particularly arising from persistent trade war between China and the United States,” he added.
Despite the widespread global economic slowdown, Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth accelerated to 4.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2019, from 4.5 per cent in the previous quarter, thus, making Malaysia among the few countries in the world that witnessed stronger expansion this year.
“However, more needs to be done.”
To this end, he said, the government had formulated the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, an overarching goal of raising the living standards of all Malaysians to a decent level by the year 2030.
He said there were three objectives to be fulfilled under the shared prosperity agenda — address income and wealth inequality in society so that no one was left behind; create a more progressive and more participatory higher value economy, and, establish Malaysia as one of the leading economic pillars in Asia.
Meanwhile, as part of the shared prosperity agenda to raise the living standards of the rakyat, he said, the government would put in more effort to attract high value-added, high technology and knowledge-intensive manufacturing investments into the country.
This, Dr Mahathir said, would create new higher-skilled and better-paying jobs for more Malaysians, while completing the domestic value chain fo the five industries as targeted by the Industry4WRD policy — the electrical and electronics, machinery and equipment, chemical and chemical products, aerospace and medical devices.
Meanwhile, tourism, private healthcare and professional services, as well as retail trade and food & beverages, are among areas identified for further development under the services sector.
“These major listed initiatives are only some of the steps we are taking to propel Malaysia into the ranks of high-economies,” said Dr Mahathir.
“But, these efforts will fail if we are divided. It is important to realise that regardless of our backgrounds, all of us have a stake under the Malaysian sun.
“Only when we share, the ideals can we fulfil our dreams.” - Bernama