Malaysia’s high-income goal – motivational or unrealistic?

GDP projection: Workers at a construction site in Selangor. Bank Islam is pencilling in Malaysia’s 2023 growth to come in at 4.5%, and subsequent years should be somewhat higher than in 2023. — Bloomberg

OVER a week ago, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that Malaysia could surpass the World Bank’s high-income nation threshold by 2026 if the country could sustain annual growth of over 4%.

We have heard it all before. The government has been singing the same old song for at least a decade, but achieving the high-income dream seems further, not closer.