What has Madani govt achieved? Anwar answers

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he is aware that numerous quarters have asked what are the efforts and successes of his Madani government.

“This is the answer,” he added in a Facebook post which revealed the details of the National Investment Council Meeting (MPN), which he chaired this evening.

He said Malaysia recorded total approved investments of RM329.5 billion in 2023 which is 23 percent higher than in 2022.

The prime minister pointed out this is the highest amount of approved investments in the country’s history and foreign investments were the main contributor at 57.2 percent, compared to domestic investments at 42.8 percent.

“This excellent performance is supported by an increase of 35.1 percent for domestic investments and 15.3 percent for foreign investments,” he added.

Anwar said this is a clear indication that the investment and business-friendly policies of the government are bearing fruit in raising investor confidence.

He added that the country’s investment landscape, which showed an encouraging performance, also reflects the recovery of the economy throughout the Madani government’s administration.

The total approved investments involved 5,101 projects and would potentially create over 127,000 new job opportunities.

The services sector recorded the highest investments, contributing over half or 51.1 per cent of total approved investments at RM168.4 billion.

This was followed by the manufacturing sector at RM152.0 billion (46.1 percent) and primary industries at RM9.1 billion (2.8 percent).

The MPN meeting also discussed digital investment, in line with the development of the digital economy.

The digital economy in Malaysia which contributed 23.2 percent to the gross domestic product in 2021, is projected to rise to 25.5 percent by 2025.

Digital economy

For the 2021-2023 period, 396 digital-related projects were approved with an investment value of RM128.9 billion, which included projects approved through the National Committee on Investments (NCI).

Investments in digital projects are expected to create jobs for 36,553 local citizens.

Among the digital investments approved were data centres, cloud computing, data hosting, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

The presence of renowned global digital companies and global market leaders in Malaysia also gave an important signal that the country has a conducive ecosystem for digital investments.

Hence, Anwar said the government needs to facilitate as best as possible the potential digital investments without compromising data security and national sovereignty.

Anwar’s government has come under the microscope amid a weakening ringgit which Bank Negara governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said does not reflect positive prospects of the economy going forward.

He said the recent performance of the ringgit, similar to other regional currencies, has been influenced by external factors. - Mkini