KUALA LUMPUR: The government is optimistic of achieving 4.0 per cent annual productivity growth against the current 2.3 per cent, on the back of good support from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), said Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
He said although the current 2.3 per cent was considered low compared to other emerging economies such as Thailand at 2.9 per cent and Indonesia at 5.7 per cent, it was still higher than developed economies such as Japan and the United States’ 0.8 per cent and Singapore’s 0.04 per cent.
Speaking to reporters after attending a meeting on four government-backed programmes here yesterday, he said the four per cent growth target was included in the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), which will be tabled next month.
“This will outline the country’s final transformation process into a high-income developed nation.
“Therefore, in order to achieve this target, the SMEs, which are the backbone of Malaysia’s economy, will have to work with the government in identifying the problems besetting the industry, be it about web processors, lack of skilled labour, automation and difficulty in accessing foreign labour,” he said.
Mustapa said it was important for a high-income nation to have companies with higher productivity levels as it would open more opportunities for them, including having competitive products and access to the global market.
He also said that the government would put additional measures to boost productivity among the SMEs, which will be announced in the next meeting this June. — Bernama