KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government and central bank are ramping up efforts to give the economy a much needed boost, after the country missed growth targets by a whisker last year.to levels not seen since the depths of the Asian financial crisis more than a quarter of a century ago.
“We are encouraging government-linked companies and government-linked investment companies to bring back foreign earnings and convert them to ringgit in a more consistent manner,” Malaysian Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan said in parliament recently. Consumers have also been told to opt for local goods and services, invest in products that are denominated in ringgit, and also travel domestically.
However, some note that just because something is made in Malaysia and costs less does not make it an immediate choice for consumers, as there are other factors such as the quality of the product to consider., with prices now higher compared to last year and the year before, said a delivery rider.Malaysia is also facing poor wage growth, with levels having largely remained stagnant in the past decade, according to economists.The government had aimed to increase wages from 32.