KUALA LUMPUR: The government will take a more holistic and inclusive approach to improve and evolve Malaysia by emphasising the importance of merging the human component with economic development to ensure a more humane economy in line with the concept of ‘Karamah Insaniah’ and six core values in Madani.
According to the Economic and Fiscal Outlook and Revenue Estimates released today, policies, strategies and programmes for the social economic development of the country will give due focus to upholding sustainability, prosperity, innovation, trust, respect as well as care, and compassion.
Through the Sustainability core, the government continues to provide subsidies and incentives for the agriculture and fisheries industry and implement various initiatives to improve food supply, including high-tech fresh agricultural produce for agro-food operators in Budget 2023.
The earlier Budget 2023 was tabled by the previous government in October last year but could not be passed before Parliament was dissolved.
Meanwhile, under the Prosperity core, the government will continue to explore a more decent minimum wage rate, benchmarked to the current median wage or the poverty line income levels.
At the same time, it will strengthen national security and defence by improving border control through asset maintenance and facility upgrading to ensure the people’s well-being.
Through the Innovation core, the government will accelerate the adoption of digitalisation and technological innovation as well as enhance cyber security measures in line with the 5G rollout as an enabler of growth.
The Respect core value, meanwhile is essential in bringing the people together with a view to contributing to the prosperity of the nation.
This includes improving the standard of living and the socio-economic status of certain communities, especially those living in rural areas and vulnerable groups to promote inclusivity.
As bumiputra achievement and equity participation is still lagging in various aspects, Budget 2023 will focus on increasing the involvement of the group in various socio-economic activities with high value-added and growth potential to create a more resilient and sustainable bumiputra community.
As for the core value of Trust, the government accords utmost importance on strengthening the governance ecosystem at all levels to increase public trust in government institutions.
This will be done by strengthening good governance to enhance transparency, integrity, efficiency, and accountability, particularly in government procurement and the conduct of government-linked companies and parliamentary institutions.
The final core value of Madani, which is Care and Compassion, involves attention to reducing the financial burden of the vulnerable, including the poor, the disabled and the elderly to ensure that standards of living are enhanced further.
They include increasing the supply of affordable housing and facilitating home ownership, improving access to quality healthcare services and education as well as implementing programmes to increase household income. - Bernama
