{"id":10685,"date":"2021-08-10T19:26:30","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T11:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=10685"},"modified":"2021-08-10T19:26:32","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T11:26:32","slug":"jumpstart-big-ticket-infrastructure-projects-to-boost-economic-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=10685","title":{"rendered":"Jumpstart big-ticket infrastructure projects to boost economic growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10\u00a0— Malaysia could see greater economic expansion\u00a0if it\u00a0jumpstarts\u00a0mega infrastructure projects post-pandemic such as\u00a0high-speed rail, especially for\u00a0the purpose of carrying goods\u00a0that will give\u00a0multiple effects across the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to entrepreneurship lecturer at Universiti Malaya\u2019s Faculty of Business and Accounting Assoc- Prof Aida Idris, such projects would be a boost for rural entrepreneurs to manufacture and market their products in the city and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the digital economy mushrooming since last year, I believe the government would look into catering the mega infrastructure projects more for carrying goods than passengers,\u201d she told Bernama. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She noted that the\u00a0three key sectors which\u00a0would\u00a0lead the country\u2019s\u00a0economic\u00a0growth\u00a0post-pandemic were\u00a0manufacturing, agriculture, and services but regardless of these three sectors, none\u00a0could function without the support of good infrastructure and utilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"infrastructure\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy point does not overlook\u00a0the infrastructure and utility sector\u00a0which are the most fundamental requirements in most national economic recovery,\u201d she said, adding that some European countries were also adopting the strategy of rail freight transport to boost the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Stressing\u00a0further on the importance of good\u00a0infrastructure projects, she said high-speed rail projects should focus on achieving equal development between rural and urban areas in line with\u00a0aspirations of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the pandemic has brought in the new norm of working from home and digital economy in which almost all jobs were operational online and, as such, less traveling is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will be a reduced need for passenger movements but more on digital economy and online businesses whereby goods can be accessible through non-traditional markets,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently,\u00a0Minister in the Prime Minister\u2019s Department\u00a0Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the government would review all construction projects nationwide, particularly those which have yet to kick off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the Economic Planning Unit and the Ministry of Finance will review all projects, especially those that have not started yet but already have allocations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On cash assistance through various packages introduced by the government including the National People’s Well-being and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH), she said it would certainly boost the economy, depending on the transition of phases of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) that varies between states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCash aid for those in phase one is helpful to cover basic expenses but for those moved into phase two onwards, cash aid is important for the local economy because it increases the purchasing power of the people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople tend to spend more and there will be greater economic activities with higher demand. So, the cash aid for these groups of people in phase two and above will give a positive effect for the entire supply chain,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Touching on the upcoming Budget 2022, Aida believed that the government would emphasize boosting the digital economy and develop\u00a0the sector further, in line with the purchasing patterns by consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a need for a lot of resources to develop that area, including making sure people are equipped with the skills and knowledge to cater to the diverse needs of consumers not only in Malaysia but also worldwide,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

— BERNAMA<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10\u00a0— Malaysia could see greater economic expansion\u00a0if it\u00a0jumpstarts\u00a0mega infrastructure projects post-pandemic such…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,524],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-nation"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53-300x161.png",300,161,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false],"large":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false],"newsium-slider-full":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false],"newsium-featured":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false],"newsium-medium":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-19.22.53.png",588,315,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"Economy<\/a> Nation<\/a>","tag_info":"Nation","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10687,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10685\/revisions\/10687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}