Malaysia aims for 4.5 to 5.5 percent annual economic growth and become a high-income country by 2025.

In Kuala Lumpur (Photo: Reuters)

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob revealed the goals on September 27 as he tabled a sweeping five-year development plan, to be debated and voted on in parliament. The blueprint aims to guide the country go through the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, though the fight against the virus is far from over and the premier himself stressed the government's financial constraints.

However, since March 27, 2020, Malaysia has launched eight  economic stimulus packages to support residents with a total value of up to 530 billion ringgit (about 126 billion USD) and has succeeded in stabilising its economy.

After four consecutive quarters of decline, in the second quarter of 2021, Malaysia's economy grew 16.1 percent over the same period last year. It is expected that the government's financial situation will improve sharply in 2023.

Prime Minister Ismail added that Malaysia targets an average annual per capita income growth of 6.4 percent from 2021 to 2025, from 42,503 ringgit in 2020 to 57,882 ringgit in 2025. At that time, Malaysia will join the list of high-income countries.

Source: VNA