Rafizi: Malaysia on track to achieve developed nation status by 2027

GEORGE TOWN, Dec 11 — Malaysia is on track to achieve developed nation status as early as 2027, Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli said.

He noted that the country had previously missed out on achieving this milestone twice.

“Based on the current projection of the country’s economic growth and currency rates, we are on the way to becoming a high-income nation, which is the benchmark for becoming a developed nation,” he said during an engagement session with Penang state government civil servants at the Spice Convention Centre here.

Rafizi said Malaysia could reach developed nation status by 2027, but practically it could be in 2028 or at the latest by 2029.

“This 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) is crucial, not only for ensuring proper planning of infrastructure and economic growth but also for moving towards becoming a developed nation,” he said.

Speaking later at a press conference, Rafizi explained that Malaysia was close to achieving developed nation status during RMK11.

“We also had the chance to achieve this under RMK12, but we couldn’t due to COVID-19,” he said.

He added that in 2022, the threshold for becoming a high-income nation was a gross national income (GNI) per capita of USD14,000.

He said this threshold depends heavily on global economic growth and is adjusted every two years.

“For example, if global economic growth is around three per cent and our growth is about five per cent, with an exchange rate of RM4-plus to the dollar, then the projection is that we can achieve developed nation status by 2027 or 2028,” he said.

Conversely, if global economic growth is four per cent and Malaysia’s growth is three per cent, the gap will widen again, Rafizi added.

“It is important to maintain the current momentum, so our growth rate remains higher than the global average,” he said.

He emphasised the need to strengthen the ringgit, which would help push the country towards developed nation status.

Additionally, Rafizi stressed the importance of improving the country’s growth engines to achieve more than four per cent growth.

“We need to create new growth engines under RMK13,” he said, adding that the country ideally needs to achieve five per cent growth under the plan.

He pointed out that Penang has a strong ecosystem in the electronics and electrical (E&E) sector, which is a key focus for the federal government.

“Penang is talent-ready, so discussions under RMK12 and beyond will encourage further development of the supply chain and ecosystem in the state,” he said.

Rafizi added that Penang would receive a larger share of projects under RMK13 as it will serve as an important growth engine.

“We cannot afford to lose this growth engine; otherwise, the entire federation will be impacted,” he said.