M'sia not a failed state: Najib
Published on: Monday, October 12, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia is not a failed state as it has built up its economic resilience which has been hailed by international agencies, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The international rating agencies had hailed Malaysia for not adopting populist policies, instead was brave enough to lay a strong and resilient foundation like the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax and rationalising the subsidy programme, he said. "The two measures were not popular as seen in the reception but were positive to strengthen and boost resilient of the national economy. "Sooner or later, the government's decisions will be proven right," he said at the SME Bank Entrepreneur Awards here.
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Also present was Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. Others included Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Chairman of SME Bank, Tan Sri Faizah Mohd Tahir and Chairman of Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz.Najib said the country has also improved its economic competitiveness after moving to the 18th spot out of 140 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 released by the World Economic Forum, compared to the 20th spot last year."This proves that Malaysia is not 'failed state'. We will drive to become a country that is more successful and our ambition to become an advanced economy will come true," he said.
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Meanwhile, Najib said, the contributions of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) had increased since 2011, and its growth rate has exceeded the nation's.For the period 2011-2014, the SME sector grew at an average rate of 6.9 per cent compared to the nation's gross domestic product's (GDP) 5.4 per cent, he said.
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"For 2015, the SME sector is expected to record 6-7 per cent growth compared to the GDP's 4.5-5.5 per cent," he said.He said the country's strong economic fundamentals and the policies introduced by the National SME Development Council had enabled the sector to consistently record higher growth compared to the country's. Najib said the increase in productivity was also vital."I hope that through automation and innovation, the aim will be achieved besides enhancing human capital development," he said. The Prime Minister added that the government would help boost the competitiveness of the SMEs so that they would be innovative and have high value-added. "This is important to ensure that SME sector is capable of facing a market which is more competitive market with the emergence of Asean as a single community and the country joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement if it signed it," he said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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