KUALA LUMPUR: The mid-term review (MTR) of the 12 Malaysia Plan (12MP) should consider Malaysia’s strategic positioning amid regional competition, according to Bank Islam Bhd.
Chief economist Firdaos Rosli said it is virtually impossible to achieve a high-income nation status while maintaining high growth rates.“We should not view the MTR in isolation as we cannot afford to ‘rebuild’ a better Malaysia with a blunt tool,” he said in the 12MP mid-term review: Malaysian economic insight.Firdaos said judging from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent statement, the bank foresaw that his administration intended to keep the government’s purse strings as tight as possible amid a global slowdown in 2023.
He said this would become contentious because austerity cannot be the answer to moderating growth.
“We must invest for the future. We anticipate constant politicking from all sides in light of the upcoming by and state elections, aided by media democratisation.
“While his decades-long struggle to assume premiership is finally over, the difficult task has just started,” he said.
The economist said Malaysia’s prosperity is a result of high investment levels pre-Asian Financial Crisis.
He said the global economy is unlike what it was, so the country should refrain from romantising its past glories and move forward.“To sustain future growth rates, we should be wary about the declining net exports-to-gross domestic product and investments,” he said.Rising income is a factor, so technological upgrading is key to pushing investments higher in the coming years while public investments take a back seat as the economy gets larger, according to Firdaos. — Bernama
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