Najib: NTP is a success story

Fact of the matter: Najib stressing a point during a dialogue session moderated by Idris at the NTP event. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is now at the cusp of rapid change and the Government is determined to drive the country’s development to greater heights in the future, says Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister said the Government has big plans for the country with huge infra-rakyat (infrastructure for the people) projects and urged Malaysians to place their confidence in the efforts undertaken.

“What we have achieved last year is way beyond expectations and predictions, and 2017 has been a very encouraging year.

“The National Transformation Programme (NTP) Annual Report 2017 has revealed that we are a success story but we will not stop at just that.

“We want to take further steps to achieve greater success until we reach the point of the 2050 National Transformation (TN50),” he said in his speech before launching the report at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre yesterday.

It is the Government’s final NTP Annual Report before the general election.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said the country has recorded a gross domestic product growth of 5.9%, exceeding all expectations and was among the highest in the world.

“How is this possible? Because of our policies for transformation, our reforms and strong foundations were laid in our economy as whole and this has been fruitful.

“We set a low inflation rate. We provided so many employment opportunities. All these are recognised by international bodies such as World Economic Forum and reports such as the Global Happiness Index,” said Najib, who urged Malaysians to download the report and read it as he wanted to encourage the people to read more.

In ending his speech, Najib said the country would never be handed over to a leader whose “dusk is awaiting”.

In the report, it was revealed that the country registered a gross national income (GNI) of RM1.32 trillion last year while RM1.8 trillion in investments were also recorded between 2011 and 2017, surpassing the initial NTP Roadmap target of RM1.4 trillion.

There was also a creation of 2.68 million additional jobs between 2011 and last year.

The Malaysian economy further demonstrated resilience and sustainability with the fiscal deficit reducing by more than half from 6.7% in 2009 to 3% in 2017.

The report also stated that Malaysia was well within reach of the high-income nation status, with the country’s GNI per capita reaching US$9,660 in 2017, bringing the gap between Malaysia’s GNI per capita and the World Bank’s current high-income threshold to 20%, from 33% at the start of the NTP’s economic transformation in 2010.

The NTP has also achieved outstanding key performance indicator (KPI) achievements for its seven National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) at 111%, 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) at 109% and the five Strategic Reform Initiatives (SRIs) at 119%.

The NTP was launched by Najib in 2009 to implement socio-economic reforms and transform Malaysia into a high-income nation.

In January 2017, the Prime Minister’s Office announced the commencement of the NTP’s final transitional phase with the handover of NTP coordination work from the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu – now known as Pemandu Associates) to the Civil Service Delivery over a two-year period.

The programme also included a dialogue session and a performance by the cast of OlaBola The Musical.