NCIA: BUDGET PRIORITISES RAKYAT’S WELL-BEING

KUALA LUMPUR: The 2018 Budget will create a concrete economic base to help Malaysia become a high-income nation by 2020, taking into account the prevailing global economic scenario, said the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA).

It commended the government’s efforts following the inclusiveness of the budget that prioritises the rakyat’s wellbeing.

“Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) has given the fundamental needs of the man on the street much thought when he stated that the government placed a strong emphasis on addressing bread and butter issues faced by the rakyat,” it said.

NCIA said one of the government’s key agenda was to help the people while ensuring continuous economic growth.

NCIA said it would drive socioeconomic growth in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) via its new growth node projects, such as the Kedah Rubber City and Kedah Science and Technology Park in Kedah, Chuping Valley Industrial Area and Perlis Inland Port in Perlis, Greater Kamunting Conurbation and the Manjung-Amanjaya Maritime City in Perak, and Batu Kawan development in Penang.

NCIA chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq said the National Transformation Programme (NTP) with its key Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) component has been effective in delivering great results.

He said such progress would propel Malaysia onto the global stage to be among the top 20 nations in the world by 2050, as envisioned in the Transformasi Nasional 2050 initiative.

The recently-announced special tax incentives for the NCER and world-class infrastructure was set to expand and strengthen regional production networks and supply chains of goods and services. Ayisy Yusof