PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has regained economic momentum and strengthened its global standing under the Madani government, says Nga Kor Ming.
The Housing and Local Government Minister said progress had been driven by political stability and bold institutional reforms.
Speaking at the Ipoh Timor DAP Chinese New Year dinner on Saturday (Feb 28), he said reforms under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had restored investor confidence.
"Malaysia has recorded high foreign investments and achieved the highest total trade value in history at RM3.05 trillion," he said.
Nga added that the ringgit had emerged as one of the best-performing currencies in Asia, strengthening from 4.80 to 3.88 against the US dollar.
"Against the Japanese yen, the ringgit improved from 27 to 39.5 yen, while against the Indonesian rupiah, it strengthened from 3,000 to 4,300," he said.
Nga, who is also DAP deputy chairman, said the global competitiveness ranking of Malaysia had improved significantly, rising from 34th to 23rd place in the World Competitiveness Index.
He noted this made it one of the countries with the highest progress globally.
Nga said the government remained committed to institutional reforms, including limiting the tenure of the Prime Minister to 10 years and separating the roles of Attorney General and Public Prosecutor.
He also highlighted the passage of a constitutional amendment granting equal citizenship rights to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers.
On another issue, Nga announced that RM250,000 had been allocated to upgrade and repair infrastructure of five schools here to create a safer, more conducive learning environment for students and teachers.
Each school will receive RM50,000, namely SK Seri Intan, SMK Seri Setia, SJK(C) San Min 1, SJK(C) San Min 2 and SJK(C) Batu Dua Belas.
He said this during a visit to SK Seri Intan on Sunday, accompanied by Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Who, Pasir Bedamar assemblyman Woo Kah Leong, Teluk Intan municipal councillors and members of the respective schools' boards.
