KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 – The MADANI Government is confident of achieving stronger Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of between four and five per cent in 2024 on the back of strong fundamentals and reforms mapped out in the MADANI Economy and Budget 2024.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Finance Minister, said after mapping out the strategy for Malaysia’s new economic growth through the MADANI Economy framework, the government will accelerate its implementation this year to ignite new economic growth and deliver social reform and justice.
“The government is determined to further narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.3 per cent this year, in line with commitments in the Public Finances and Fiscal Responsibility Act 2023. The government has successfully reduced fiscal deficit to 5 per cent in 2023 from 5.6 per cent in 2022,” he said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) today.
MoF said the MADANI Economy framework underscores the importance of reforming Malaysia’s economy to not only address systemic, historical challenges but also focus on new areas of sustainable growth and resilience.
Budget 2024, on the other hand, firmly highlights the government’s commitment to responsible fiscal management and subsidy rationalisation, the ministry said, adding that savings from these will be channelled to the vulnerable communities and the rakyat based on needs, as well as improve public infrastructure and services.
Meanwhile, MoF said, strategies and measures under the National Energy Transition Roadmap, New Industrial Master Plan 2030 and Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan aim to propel quality investments in high-value-added industries, especially in the energy transition, digital and high-technology industries, ultimately creating more high-income job opportunities for the rakyat.
Commenting on 2023 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) announced today, the ministry said the Malaysian economic growth normalised to 3.7 per cent in 2023, following a strong growth registered in the previous year (2022: 8.7 per cent) and was slightly lower than the Budget 2024 forecast of about four per cent.
Despite a challenging external environment, the ministry said, Malaysia’s economy grew by three per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023), supported by resilient domestic demand that rose by 5.2 per cent in the quarter (Q3 2023: 4.8 per cent).
This helped cushion the 3.2 per cent decline in Malaysia’s trade, as exports softened on the back of cooling global demand, it said.
