Country’s PM Optimistic About Malaysia’s Economic Growth in the Near Future
Malaysia’s economic growth is on the rise and is expected to maintain momentum well into the year’s second quarter. Significantly contributed by the country’s trade, Malaysia set a new record of RM270.4 billion when the trade soared up to 43.4% in June 2022. According to the nation’s Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the unemployment rate is decreasing to 3.9%. Comparing the figure to May 2020, the unemployment rate previously was at 5%, a decrease of 1.1%. As a result, the labour market, in turn, is making major improvements.
The Minister also noted that trade industries, such as wholesale and retail, were showing positive signs. The two trades have been marking remarkable figures, with the former gaining close to 20% and the latter to 15.7%, respectively, this May. Reaching these numbers did not just happen out of the blue; better government policies have been one of the major contributing factors to the economic uprising. Under the Budget 2022, the distribution of stimulus packages designed for people proved particularly useful.
Moving on to the Endemic Phase as Planned
Well into the endemic phase, the Prime Minister noted that Malaysia’s transition had been a smooth sail. According to him, the country’s economy increased by 5% during the year’s first quarter. He backed the claim by noting the national and international demand, which has solidified the economy. The Minister also delivered multiple good news in his speech, creating almost 25 thousand job opportunities via Keluarga Malaysia and having RM42.8 billion worth of investments approved in the same quarter.
The massive investment has been attributed to the international credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings. Malaysia has recently moved to the ‘stable’ after being in the ‘negative’ rating. This catapulted investors from all over the globe to invest in Malaysia, seeing as the country’s credit managed to surface and triumph over the post-pandemic obstacles, which few countries have succeeded in.
Malaysia is Transforming to Become the Next Investment Destination
At the same time, the Minister has also urged the members of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) to be responsible and comply with regulations. This is to ensure that Malaysian remains competitive in the current market and continues progressing to the global market. The New Investment Policy on the National Investment Aspirations’ end goal is to make Malaysia an investment destination, which will stimulate and create a robust economy.
In order to achieve this, ensuring sustainability is of extreme importance. Although Malaysia is rapidly growing, sustainability has to be hand-in-hand with it and not take the backseat. Elements such as environment, social and good governance are fundamental to this very cause. Hence, making sure that production, business operations and global labour standards compliance always have to be a priority.
