Malaysia’s productivity growth expected to be at 3% this year

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s productivity growth in 2023 is expected to be moderate at 3 percent “amid continuous challenges in domestic and global economies,” said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said that more needs to be done to boost Malaysia’s productivity and competitiveness to improve the economy.

“Under the recently launched Madani Economy framework, one of the seven targets to be achieved is for Malaysia to be listed in the top 12 in the World Competitiveness Ranking.

“This also implies that our productivity growth is not transformative enough to lift the country out of the middle-income trap economy sooner,” the minister said at the online launch of the Productivity Report (PR) 2023 today.

Tengku Zafrul added that productivity can be improved by the public and private sectors prioritising employees’ wellbeing and supporting a decent standard of living for them.

“When this happens, it is much easier to enhance employee performance and profits, which in turn makes it easier to achieve sustainable productivity.

“All of this means that the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (Miti) and its agencies have a monumental task ahead. I am confident, however, that all of us are up to the task and committed to achieving those Madani Economy targets,” he said.

The PR 2023, themed “Sustainable Productivity” and launched by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), provides details of Malaysia’s productivity agenda.

MPC chairman Datuk Kamaruzzaman Johari said the MPC is committed to amplifying productivity improvement initiatives by focusing on talent, technology, and regulations.

“MPC’s efforts encompass a broad, far-reaching approach.

“Its macro-level interventions, policy recommendations, and framework are curated to enable a productivity-enhanced business environment,” he added.

The PR 2023 noted Malaysia’s commendable productivity, as well as competitiveness, which climbed five places to the 27th position in the World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) 2023 by the Institute for Management Development (IMD).

This was attributed to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 8.7 per cent in 2022 and a stronger-than-expected recovery in productivity at 5.4 per cent. – BK