Oct 7, 2021
Quality jobs, investments enable people to enjoy higher savings, standard of living says Tok Pa
High quality jobs and investments will enable Malaysians to enjoy a higher standard of living and also enable them to have higher savings, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
“How do we plan to rebuild savings, it has got to do with incomes. There is no shortcut, we cannot simply top up using government resources, so it’s got to come from somewhere and that somewhere will be jobs, quality jobs,” he said at a webinar titled “Malaysia Economic Direction — What to Expect Next” hosted by UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors today.
He said this in response to a question on how to address the low savings rate of Malaysians, especially those who had withdrawn from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) account during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“That is why investments will play an important role, not only foreign but domestic investors as well. We have to be more aggressive in attracting quality investments,” he said, pointing to past successes in states like Penang, Johor, and Sarawak where different sectors like electrical and electronics and oil and gas have boomed.
