Leveraging China's GDI to revitalise Malaysia’s industrial sector

SINCE the early 1990s, Malaysia has been exhibiting signs of premature deindustrialisation, characterised by a decline in the relative contribution of the manufacturing sector to the economy – a trait typically observed only when a country has attained the status of a developed country.

In 2022, the manufacturing industry contributed only 23.4% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), down from a peak of 30.9% in 1999.