Daim warns of possible economic downturn

Former Council of Eminent Persons chairperson Daim Zainuddin has urged the country to brace for an economic downturn due to external factors.

“There are problems all over the world. There are problems in the Middle East, in Hong Kong, North Korea, South China Sea, so many problems.

“Hopefully it doesn’t affect us but, of course, anything that happens in the world will affect us, so we must be prepared on how to handle that,” Daim said to reporters after launching the "MyKampung" initiative in conjunction with Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Setia Alam today.

To prepare the country, he emphasised on food security and education.

“Make sure we have everything we want for the people. Food is very important.

“Make sure that as far as education is concerned, we take care of our people for the future,” he said.

Earlier in the event, Daim had said that Malaysia imported RM50 billion worth of food in 2018.

He encouraged more youths to venture into agriculture to reduce import, among other reasons.

“What we want to do (is to) reduce import, if possible, export, create employment and also increase income.

“Right now, unemployment is high, graduates do not have jobs, we ask them to go back, go into agriculture.

“Once we produce this, locals can get fresh food at a lower price (and) if there is an excess, we can export,” he said.

Daim had previously said the agriculture industry was a way for Malaysia to tackle its poverty problems and to create more jobs.

He had said there was a need to make agriculture "sexy", adding that developing coconut plantations was the way forward due to increased demand for coconut-based products. - Mkini