KUALA LUMPUR (April 10): The government will intensify its efforts to boost domestic direct investments (DDIs) as a hedge against mounting global uncertainties, particularly amid ongoing trade tensions, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

While Malaysia will continue to address external trade issues, Amir Hamzah said the immediate priority is to stimulate internal economic engines that are within the country’s control.

“These are interesting times. We have a lot of fluidity that’s happening at this point of time. Which is why the focus for Malaysia is to work on things that [we] can control,” he told a press conference after the conclusion of the Asean Investment Conference 2025 on Thursday.

Amir Hamzah stressed that the key to sustaining economic momentum lies in providing certainty to businesses, which in turn encourages investment. “The worst thing that can happen today is when there is high uncertainty. When uncertainty is high, everybody waits. And when we wait, the economy will slow down even more dramatically,” he said.

The minister noted that the government has been focusing on bringing in foreign direct investments (FDIs) over the past two years, which have served as a catalyst for broader economic activity. Following heightened external uncertainties due to US President Donald Trump's unpredictable tariff announcements, Amir Hamzah said the government is now turning its attention inward to unlock domestic capital and support long-term growth.

“We asked the question, what else can our domestic investments do in this country? Can we activate the large liquidity that actually exists in Malaysia?” he said, pointing to encouraging investment commitments from government-linked investment companies (GLICs).

From a policy standpoint, Amir Hamzah said the Finance Ministry aims to accelerate the execution of domestic investment plans to help cushion the impact of external shocks.

“By doing this — creating economic activity — we dampen the effects of whatever external challenges that actually exist. Now, that’s good work. It’s good work because we can control it along the way,” he said.

Beyond investment, the minister also highlighted recent measures to stimulate private domestic consumption, including the civil service pay adjustments and the minimum wage hike implemented in February.

“This will put money in the hands of the citizenry. When money goes into the hands of the citizenry, they spend… That stimulates the economy,” he added.

The global economic landscape has become increasingly volatile following a series of abrupt tariff announcements by Trump. In the latest move, the US president announced a 90-day pause on higher tariffs he just announced last week. The U-turn came just 13 hours after the so-called reciprocal tariffs were supposed to take effect, fuelling market turmoil and stoking recession fears.

Malaysia was slapped with a 24% tariff on exports to the US — one of its major trading partners. If the tariffs were to proceed, they would weigh on Malaysia’s export performance, adding pressure on policymakers to shore up domestic demand and investment as buffers against external shocks.