KUALA LUMPUR: Premature deindustrialisation over the last decade has hindered Malaysia's progress in economic complexity, leaving it trailing behind advanced economies like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said Malaysia's involvement in the manufacturing value chain is also currently concentrated in relatively lower-value segments.
He added that there is significant potential to elevate our industries higher in the global value chain, particularly in sectors such as electrical and electronics (E&E) and semiconductors.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the country's labour productivity growth has also lagged behind countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and reliance on low-skilled foreign workers must be reversed by investing in technology and innovation.
"The lesson here is that change, and reforms may be daunting, but we have done it before and can do it again.
"The key to our success has always been the private sector working together with the government, based on a whole-of-nation approach," the minister said in his opening remark at the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Sasana Symposium 2024 in a recorded video today.
Hence, Tengku Zafrul said the New Industrial Masterplan (NIMP) 2030 was designed to guide Malaysia's industries towards technological advancement, sustainability and greater integration into the global value chain.
He encouraged the financial sector to take on a more active role in achieving the missions outlined by the NIMP 2030, and the most recent policy, the National Semiconductor Strategy launched in May 2024.
"As a former banker, I'm fully convinced that this will be a "win-win" for financial institutions.
"The NIMP presents new opportunities for banks and the capital market to innovate and offer the right financing products to finance new sectors and technologies," he noted.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul also said the financial sector must take a more long-term perspective in funding structural reform agendas, while they are looking at shorter-term gains.
He added that the hallmark of successful reforms and true nation building is a win-win end-game for all stakeholders.
"Securing Malaysia's future sustainable growth is also securing future income streams of banks and financial institutions," he said.
Nevertheless, Tengku Zafrul highlighted that Malaysia has a good track record of reinventing itself and implementing difficult structural reforms.
He said over the past few decades, the Malaysian economy transformed from an agriculture- and commodities-based economy into one of the most vibrant manufacturing-based economies in Southeast Asia today.