KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will continue with its reform strategies for the betterment of the nation’s economy amid challenging market conditions, says Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
The Finance Minister II said the Madani economic framework is “clearly in place” and the execution via the National Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 and National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) will continue as planned.
“These are structural and fundamental elements that must be sustained,” he said during a Ministerial Dialogue discussing matters in regards to Asean structural macro policies here Tuesday (April 8).
Citing an example given by Indonesia's Vice-Finance Minister Thomas Dwijandono suggesting that reprioritisation is necessary, Amir said this move will allow challenges such as the heated issue of tariffs imposed by the United States government to be cushioned.
US President Donald Trump announced retaliatory tariffs less than a week ago, with Malaysia being hit with a tariff of 24%.
“So, for example, if there was a way to activate a better market environment whereby private markets in Malaysia are much more robust than they are today, suddenly we provided some liquidity into the market to allow businesses to thrive along the way.
“If we are able to simplify the regulatory environment and allow a much better ease of doing business, then competitively we are better stated than a lot of other people.
“And if we are able to provide better infrastructure capacity, we will always look better in order to underpin investments coming in. So I think that is what Malaysia will focus on,” he added.
That being said, Amir emphasised that while specific aspects may take priority in terms of cushioning the blows of economic challenges, reforms should not be delayed.
“Reforms will secure the success of the country going forward,” he said.
