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ISKANDAR PUTERI: Budget 2026 will include measures to attract more investments, encourage automation and digitalisation, and create higher-paying jobs for Malaysians, says Liew Chin Tong.
The Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said the ministry had submitted proposals to the Finance Ministry, but the final decision rests with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who will table the budget on Oct 10.
“The government’s direction is clear. We want to create better jobs for Malaysians and push our industries towards greater adoption of automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation,” he added.
Liew, who is also Iskandar Puteri MP, said this to reporters after launching the Good Job Career Fair held at University of Reading in EduCity here on Saturday (Sept 20).
He added that the aim was to transform Malaysia into a technology-driven economy.
“We want to move from being known only as a trading nation to one that creates and innovates. The shift must be from ‘Made in Malaysia’ to ‘Made by Malaysia’, with more intellectual property and innovation originating here,” he said.
On Malaysia’s export performance, Liew said global uncertainties had not stopped the country from surpassing RM1 trillion in trade.
“This was partly due to companies that relocated to Malaysia under the China Plus One strategy over the past two to three years. Many of them are now producing goods here, which has contributed to our exports,” he said.
On Friday, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) announced that Malaysia recorded higher trade for the first eight months of this year with exports surpassing RM1 trillion a month earlier compared with 2024.
Total trade rose by 3.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM1.98 trillion between January and August, with exports and imports increasing by 3.9% to RM1.03 trillion and 3.6% to RM945.62bil, respectively.
However, Miti said Malaysia’s August 2025 trade eased slightly by 1.9 per cent y-o-y to RM247.07bil amid shifting global trade conditions, although exports grew for the second consecutive month by 1.9% to RM131.6bil.
The ministry noted that export growth in August 2025 was driven by strong performances in both manufactured and agricultural goods, with agriculture exports rebounding from the negative growth recorded in July 2025.
The trade expansion was mainly contributed by electrical and electronic products, followed by machinery, equipment and parts, optical and scientific equipment, as well as palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products.
Notably, Miti said exports of optical and scientific equipment recorded their highest value to date.
While Malaysia’s overall trade performance remained resilient from January to August 2025, exporters were strongly encouraged to improve and diversify their product offerings, and to strengthen supply chain efficiencies to mitigate the transitional effects of policy shifts and uncertainties in the global trading landscape.
Exporters are also encouraged to leverage the 18 free trade agreements ratified by Malaysia with various countries and economies.
