KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is “firmly on the path” to become a high-income nation. The “middle income trap” is no longer an issue after the introduction of the National Transformation Programme (NTP), according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The comment was in stark contrast to a comment by Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) two days ago that Malaysia is severely off-track from its Vision 2020 income goal.
Ideas highlighted that the average income per person in Malaysia had shrunk by 15% to US$8,821 (RM38,989) in 2016, from US$10,345 in 2013.
Speaking at The Global Transformation Forum, Najib pointed out that the NTP had created 1.8 million jobs, of which over one million were high-income jobs. He also shared that gross national income had increased by nearly 50%, and that poverty had almost been eradicated with a reduction to barely 0.6%.
The prime minister heaped praises on the government’s decision to make some tough calls, such as the removal of fuel subsidies as well as the introduction of the goods and services tax, as it helped build stronger resilience when crude oil prices had fallen sharply over the past two years.
“But had we not taken the risk [to make tough calls], we would have been suffering today because of that sharp and sudden decline in oil prices. We would have been in dire straits, facing a massive hole in the country’s budget. Instead, as the result of those tough choices, we built the resilience that even in the difficult times for [the] global economy, we still register [a] growth of 4.2% in 2016.
“We expect a slightly higher [economic growth] figure this year, and for it to rise in 2018. These figures show Malaysia growing at more than double the rates the IMF (International Monetary Fund) predicts for advanced economies over the same time period,” Najib said.
The prime minister also told the audience that Malaysia’s 2050 NTP is for the country to be a top 20 country by 2050.
“PriceWaterhouseCoopers has just published a report in which they predict Malaysia will have the 25th highest GDP (gross domestic product) in the world, measured by purchasing power parity, by 2030, and the 24th by 2050. So, top 20 is within our grasp,” he said.