KUALA LUMPUR: Khairy Jamaluddin, who has declared his hope of becoming the prime minister one day, said Malaysia’s next big leap lies in a new industrial policy of reinvestment in manufacturing to take advantage of global opportunities.
He said Malaysia should position itself by choosing strategic areas of production, whether in aircraft components, the semiconductor industry or in other sectors, so that it will be ready when investors come seeking a manufacturing hub.
He said the economy was on a good footing coming out of the pandemic, but structural reforms were urgently needed to forge ahead.
In an interview with FMT, Khairy, who said “I like solving problems”, set out his thoughts on the way forward.
He said a reset was needed on policies regarding the economy, the education system, and welfare and social protection, where there had been “piecemeal reforms so far”.
“(Look at) the economic structure of this country. Are we too reliant on certain sectors? What do we do about subsidies? What do we do about government revenue?” he said.
He said Malaysia must remain an open trading nation and project itself “not just regionally but globally, so that people are paying attention to us, and investors are coming to invest with us”, thus making the country a hub for the region and Asia.
He also said there was a need to extend consumer and business confidence as the world would face serious global economic headwinds next year.
The 14% gross domestic product growth recorded in the third quarter, he said, would be challenged in the fourth quarter and next year.
Khairy also said Malaysia could benefit from geopolitical tensions, specifically between the US and China, as companies were looking for alternatives to set up their factories.
“They will want to pick a neutral place to relocate their production base, whether it’s in aircraft components, the semiconductor industry, or other manufacturing sectors,” he said.
He pointed out that there was already a factory in Sungai Buloh called SME Aerospace Sdn Bhd that produced components for the wings of Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
To move forward, he said, a strong government was needed, one that already had a plan in mind.
“We have already presented the budget, which was well received by the markets and the people,” he said, referring to Budget 2023 tabled by the Ismail Sabri Yaakob government shortly before Parliament was dissolved.
“So, it’s there, it’s ready to go. If you elect us on Nov 19, and Ismail comes back as PM, Zafrul (Tengku Zafrul Aziz) is back as finance minister, and I’m back as health minister, then we get to work from day one.” - FMT
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