KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia’s growth forecast is being revised downward to reflect a broader global trend, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan (pic) emphasises the importance of not overly fixating on growth figures.
Instead, he said, the focus should be on building resilience and ensuring the country has the right tools and policies to thrive amid heightened global volatility – a journey the government has embarked upon over the last three years.
The minister expressed confidence that despite multilateral bodies revising Malaysia’s growth target, the country will continue to register growth in 2025.
On Friday, the World Bank projected Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for this year at 3.9%.
Earlier in the week, the International Monetary Fund set its growth forecast for the country at 4.1%, down from 4.7%.
These predictions came in lower than the government’s target of 4.5% to 5.5%.
“The good thing is that it (the revised prediction) is still growth,” Amir Hamzah said at the Asean Leadership Forum organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.
He said Malaysia’s economic fundamentals remain strong and resilient, mainly supported by robust domestic demand, a well-diversified economy and sustained investments.
“Malaysia remains well positioned to navigate global uncertainties,” he said, reported Bernama.
He pointed out that the country registered a GDP growth of 5.1% in 2024, higher than the 3.6% achieved the previous year.
“(Among others,) we have been trying to push the economy ahead from a middle-income to a high-income economy on a global scale, and for that, we all have to punch through and break out of the middle-income trap,” he said.
One of the key challenges in achieving this vision lies in rethinking the country’s economic foundation – an effort that is central to the Madani Economy framework, Amir Hamzah said.
The framework, launched in 2023, focuses on redesigning the economy with good governance, while at the same time building better social protection and increasing living wages.
“This is important because a stable society provides a much more conducive environment for progression in the country. At the same time, we want to re-strengthen our social nets and enhance good governance,” he said.
Hence, the key is to attract the right types of investments that focus on skills development and new priority sectors.
“So, it wasn’t a surprise when Malaysia evolved to become one of the better data centre hubs in Asia, and it also wasn’t a surprise that artificial intelligence has taken off in terms of what we can do and offer in Malaysia,” he said.
Last year, Malaysia’s foreign direct investment experienced significant growth, recording a historic high of RM378.5bil in approved investments, a 14.9% year-on-year increase.
Malaysia, he said, is also accelerating its green transition by attracting investments in renewable energy, electric vehicles and hydrogen technology.
