NTP sees 1.8 million jobs created between 2010 to 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: Government policies such as the National Transformation Programme (NTP) place special emphasis on ensuring that the youth workforce is gainfully employed, with 1.8 million jobs having been created between 2010 and 2016.

Of this number, over one million were high-income jobs.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said through the NTP, the Gross National Income increased by nearly 50 per cent, with poverty in Malaysia almost eradicated, in having reduced it to just 0.6 per cent.

“We have kept inflation and unemployment low, while having won acclaim from global institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for the reforms undertaken.

“We are firmly on the path to becoming a high-income nation. In short, we have an economic plan. That plan is working, we have delivered, and we will continue to deliver,” Najib reiterated during his keynote address at the recent 2017 Global Transformation Forum.

He said to help those within the low-income group cope with the rising cost of living, and also stimulate economic activity in the consumer market, the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) was introduced in 2012 and provided targeted relief to 7.28 million households earning less than RM3,000 a month in 2016.

“One reason why the NTP has been so successful, and why we have been able to introduce programmes such as BR1M and various targeted housing plans, is because we have maintained a strong focus on two areas, namely human capital and connectivity,” he added.

Najib also listed programmes under the NTP, including new innovation centres, increasing graduate employability, boosting female participation in the workforce and supporting women in the boardroom and in leadership positions.

Meanwhile, the Small Retailer Transformation Programme (TUKAR) encompassed by the NTP, has helped improve the living standards of low income households.