GDP to grow at 4.5% despite challenging times, says Dr Mahathir

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia is committed to providing a stable business environment for investors. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia’s gross domestic product is expected to grow at 4.5% this year, a figure that is in line with the World Bank’s forecast.

Up until last December, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had maintained Malaysia’s GDP growth target of 4.8% despite a downward revision by the World Bank to 4.5%.

Speaking at a dialogue with the French business community in Cyberjaya today, Mahathir said the 4.5% target was despite challenging times.

“With good fiscal discipline, our budget deficit will narrow to 3.2% this year. We are committed to provide a stable business environment for investors.

“We will be business friendly. In fact, we will revive our Malaysia Incorporated policy, which means close cooperation between the government and the private sector,” he said at the event organised by the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce.

Mahathir said Malaysia was now ranked 12th in the World Bank 2020 ease of doing business report, moving three notches up from last year.

“Moving forward, we will continue to embrace the 5Cs of doing business – clarity, consistency, certainty, confidence and continuity,” he said.

The prime minister also said the government was committed to developing the right talent needed for the 21st century and remained “very generous” with various employment and resident passes for high-skilled and specialised foreign talent.

“We also welcome a very significant number of foreign students every year. We will listen to your views on the kind of workers you want us to produce,” he added. - FMT