Lim Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 -- The government places a premium on economic growth with the widespread use of new technology along with private investment in high value, high-technology and knowledge base areas to drive the nation towards high-income status.

At the same time, there is a need to ensure that high-quality growth is felt by the ordinary people on the streets, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said.

“High-income status will be meaningless if ordinary Malaysians do not get a share in the prosperity of the country. Towards this end, the government is now advocating shared prosperity, a new direction calling for an economic growth that leaves no one behind,” he said in the Economic Outlook 2020 Report released by the ministry here today.

The Malaysian economy is expected to grow at 4.7 per cent in 2019 and 4.8 per cent in 2020.

The government, he said, was also undertaking a special mission to protect the most vulnerable groups, which could be seen through the introduction of various social programmes such as Bantuan Sara Hidup, MySalam national health protection scheme, Skim Peduli Kesihatan B40 (PEKA B40), i-Suri and FoodBank.

Public concerns over living costs are being addressed through among others, the introduction of MyRapid passes and i-Keep.

Additionally, the government is designing a Cost of Living Index to assist employers in determining the appropriate living wage and the requisite salary increment for their employees accounting for living costs, said the minister.

Going forward, he said the quality of institutions was important in enabling long-term economic growth and therefore, the government would continue to press on with its institutional reforms, especially in public finance.

“The level of transparency in the public sector will be enhanced further when the government completes its shift towards accrual-based accounting from cash basis within three years,” he added.

On the regional front, Malaysia will be hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2020, where the country would welcome over 16,000 delegates from 21 economies, representing 60 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) valued at US$40 trillion and 47 per cent of the international trade worth US$22 trillion.

“This presents us with an opportunity to introduce a reinvigorated Malaysia to the world and showcase the transformation of Malaysia from a global kleptocracy to a functioning democracy ready to assume the mantle of one of Asia’s economic tiger,” said Lim.

-- BERNAMA