Malaysia created numerous success stories since first Malaysia Plan – Najib

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia had created numerous success stories that it be proud of throughout its 10 Malaysia Plans.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak listed 10 of Malaysia’s success stories when tabling the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) at the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.

He said the first success story was when the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached RM1.1 trillion now compared to only RM71.1 billion in 1970. In fact, he said Malaysia’s economic growth was among the highest in Asia, averaging 6.2 per cent a year over the past five decades.

“The second success story was when the country’s economy structure changed from a dominantly agricultural landscape which contributed 31.8 per cent of GDP in 1970 to a manufacturing and services-based which contributed 76.5 per cent of GDP. The agricultural sector contracted to 9.2 per cent last year,” he said.

Najib said the average household income had also increased 20-fold from RM264 a month in 1970 to RM6,141 a month in 2014.

The median income had also increased to RM4,585 a month last year from only RM166 a month in 1970, he said. The prime minister said the fourth success story was when, as at the 10MP, 76.1 per cent of the average households in the country had own a house, while for poor household, 75,3 per cent had managed to own a house.

“The fifth success story was when 95.1 per cent of the country’s population have access to clean water supply and 97.6 per cent have access to electricity supply,” he said.

Besides, he said the literacy rate had also increased to 98 per cent from only 75 per cent in 1970.

The prime minister said at present, 27 per cent of workforce had tertiary education compared to only six per cent in 1980 or by end of the 3MP. The eight success stories was created when the unemployment rate declined to 2.9 per cent last year from 7.4 per cent in 1970, he said.

“The ninth success story was when the Bumiputera equity in the corporate sector increased 10-fold to 23.5 per cent in 2011 from only 2.4 per cent in 1970,” he said.

Najib said the poverty rate had also declined to only 0.6 per cent in 2014 from 49.3 per cent in 1970.

He said each policy and vision, as well as plan, made by the government was interconnected and complemented each other consistently.

“It is not true if certain quarters accuse that the today’s government’s policies today were separated from the previous ones.

“In this context, I want to stress that each plan, vision and the policy of the coalition government since Independence right to the Barisan Nasional government today had seen a continuity of being on the same track and heading to the same goal,” he said. — Bernama