KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s economy is expected to continue its journey towards recovery in the early months of 2021, according to the Statistics Department.
Citing the recent Asian Development Bank economic report, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Malaysia’s gross domestic product is projected to fall by 6% this year before bouncing back to 7% in 2021.
Hence, he said, it is crucial to find the right solution and targeted approach to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, while ensuring that industry players will not be hugely impacted.
“Malaysia’s economy is gradually recovering as the unprecedented pandemic situation is still controllable with the strict standard operating procedures set by the government,” he said.
He also noted that the government’s policies and initiatives have supported the stabilisation of the labour market’s condition, leading to a gradual improvement.
Uzir added that more strategic efforts should be made to promote entrepreneurship as an income source, producing job creators as opposed to job seekers, especially among the youths.
Simultaneously, he said, to increase employability, youths must always be ready to update and upgrade their knowledge and skills to ensure that they remain agile and adaptable to the ever-changing labour market prerequisites.
Uzir also noted that the government had also recently permitted interdistrict and interstate travel, which would boost domestic tourism activities.
“The year-end period will usually be bustling with tourism activities as people take advantage of the long Christmas, New Year, and school holidays, thus contributing to the significant growth of tourism-based industries nationwide,” he said.
Uzir said that the pandemic was a blessing in disguise for e-commerce, as online purchases had increased, which also helped to boost post and courier service providers’ revenue.
Online businesses have contributed to the increase in the use of information and communications technology, with traders actively utilising digital platforms for their businesses’ survival.
“Entrepreneurs in the informal sectors, such as food, clothing, and handcrafted items have actively adapted to using these platforms in creative ways through social media, as can be seen in the mushrooming of these activities,” he said.
Uzir noted that under Budget 2021, the government has provided some financial assistance for entrepreneurs.
“Nevertheless, more proactive approaches are needed to sustain their livelihoods,” he said.
Uzir also said the domestic labour force has increased to 15.96 million people in October, from 15.93 million in September.
“Nonetheless, the unemployment rate in October was 4.7% – a 0.1% increase from September after registering a decreasing trend for four consecutive months since June 2020,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s exports of goods in October increased by 0.2% year-on-year to RM91.1 billion, the second highest monthly export value registered in 2020.
The positive growth was supported by the increase in exports of rubber gloves, palm oil, and palm oil-based products, as well as electrical and electronic products.
Additionally, the manufacturing sector continues to be the driving force of the economy, with a positive growth of 2.4%, contributed by both domestic and export-oriented industries. – Bernama, December 24, 2020
