Economy minister Rafizi Ramli said Malaysia has the potential to gain its position as an "Asian Tiger"—LOW LAY PHON/The Star
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is poised to become a high-income nation by 2027 if the country’s gross domestic product or GDP continues to grow between 4% and 5% annually and if the ringgit strengthens to RM4.20 against the US dollar.
According to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, if the targets are achieved, it will consequently lead to the country becoming an “Asian Tiger”.
The country would be able to increase its potential by focusing on high-value sectors, he said.
“The perception or prospect of Malaysia as an Asian Tiger needs to be based on the future economy,” he said.
Among the important factors are sustainability of the energy sector, growth of data centres and potential to increase the scale of the electronics and chip industry, he told the reporters after the launch of the 2024 economic census findings by the Statistics Department here yesterday.
“Based on the census, companies that manufacture chips in Malaysia can be counted on the fingers.
“So, that allows us to ensure that the policies and programmes for the next five years will focus on these sector,” he added.
Asked about a targeted timeline to achieve the goal of becoming an Asian Tiger, he said it would be detailed in the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Rafizi stressed on the importance of the census, as it would serve as a foundation for the government to formulate targets to be included in the upcoming Malaysia plan.Commenting on the Economic Census 2023 report, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said based on the report, the number of establishments in Malaysia increased by 2.5% with a gross output value of RM3.85 trillion in 2022.
A total of 951,862 establishments or 87.2% are concentrated in the services sector, followed by the construction sector with 71,062 establishments or 6.5%, and the manufacturing sector with 54,505 establishments or 5%.
Meanwhile, the agriculture and mining and quarrying sectors both contributed to the rest, with 12,998 establishments (contributing 1.2%) and 1,440 establishments which contributed 0.1% respectively.
The value of gross output for the entire economic sector amounted to RM3.85 trillion in 2022, increasing 6.4% every year.
Mohd Uzir also said the census has revealed some important findings that showed a dynamic economic transition in seven years.
This is in line with Malaysia’s trade performance which showed strong export growth during this period, with an annual growth rate of 10.4% to RM1.55 trillion in 2022, as compared to RM777.5bil in 2015.
The economic census is held every five years, whereby the most recent census was done in 2015.
However, the census was unable to be conducted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and could only be done in 2023.
