Indicators Show Malaysia Is On Excellent Track To Recovery -- PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- Various indicators are clearly showing that Malaysia is on an excellent track towards recovery from the health and economic crisis that began two years ago, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. For example, he said, Malaysia recorded a resilient export performance with export value surpassing the RM100 billion (RM1 = US$0.239) mark to hit a new record of RM123.8 billion -- a 29.2 per cent year-on-year growth. “The American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) has confirmed (based on its 2020/21 Economic Impact Survey) that US firms have invested RM165.73 billion and created more than 130,000 job opportunities, of which 90 per cent were filled by locals. "(In addition,) the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has approved projects worth RM109.1 billion within the first 100 days of my administration to increase foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, with the projected creation of 25,000 jobs," he said in his Facebook post Thursday. Ismail Sabri stressed that the government would continue to raise the living standards of the people through various initiatives and programmes involving local and foreign investments. He said the initiatives being implemented had led to the country’s unemployment rate falling to 4.2 per cent in December 2021 compared with 4.3 per cent in November 2021 following the reopening of more economic and social sectors. The prime minister also said that through the job guarantee initiative, the government would provide 600,000 job opportunities through an allocation of RM4.8 billion. -- BERNAMA