Malaysia aims for economic resilience over efficiency amid global uncertainties, says Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — Malaysia’s economic focus has shifted from pursuing efficiency to building greater resilience as the country continues to outperform growth forecasts despite global uncertainty, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) said.

Mida chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said economic leadership also meant preparing Malaysia to seize clear opportunities while remaining resilient to unpredictable shocks.

He said key fiscal reforms, including fuel subsidy rationalisation and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, had strengthened Malaysia’s public finances.

“But economic reform must be matched by compassion; we must safeguard the vulnerable while building national capacity.

“We must proactively lift incomes by ensuring wages rise alongside productivity, creating higher-paying jobs and boosting entrepreneurship,” he said in his special leadership address at the Youth Economic Forum here today.

The former Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said trade routes were being redrawn while artificial intelligence (AI) was both empowering and disrupting the workforce, reshaping jobs that had once provided young people with their first foothold in a career.

Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia’s young population could become an economic dividend only if it translated into higher productivity, innovation, high-value jobs and new businesses.

“As record investment flows into our region and our country, we must keep asking: what does this investment create for Malaysians? How many high-income jobs? How many young engineers with new skills? How many small and medium-sized enterprises plugged into global supply chains?

“Capital should build stronger firms, and technology should build better skills,” he added. — Bernama