Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, president of the National Recovery Council, speaks during a press conference in Lanai Kijang, Kuala Lumpur October 15, 2021. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — A paradigm shift must be made by leveraging market opportunities with new innovations, reforming business models and disruptive technologies as potential game changer to accelerate growth of all sectors in the Muslim world, said National Recovery Council (MPN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said the need to move beyond traditional frameworks and conventional wisdom amid challenges, exploring innovative approaches and cultivating new ideas would foster positive change in the Muslim world and beyond.
“We must embrace disruptive change as a catalyst of growth to be ‘future-proof’ in response to the ever-changing business and economic landscapes,” he said during the special address at the virtual World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Roundtable 2021 “Revitalisation and Reform: Catalysing Growth” today.
Muhyiddin noted that the strength of human capital must be optimised by prioritising skills enhancement in the workforce, particularly in areas of high value growth such as technology, financial services, and energy.
“We must empower the young to pioneer this exciting new frontier as Muslims and Malaysians enter the ‘Metaverse’,” he said.
In addition, the former prime minister said bottom-up initiatives through community empowerment such as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) should constantly be afforded with opportunities to adapt and grow to set their businesses apart.
“Empowering the role of government-linked companies as forefront in regional integration, meanwhile, will enhance the focus and mandate to drive economic growth and development,” he said.
Furthermore, Muhyiddin said the Islamic economy is an economic frontier that would enable the people to move rapidly forward together, particularly in the new post-Covid landscape.
“An abundance of opportunities exist for the Muslim world, our Muslim member states must work to establish competitive advantages and maximise these opportunities,” he pointed out.
Malaysia, for instance, he said, has remained a key player under the Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI) since the past decade, driven by a strong Islamic finance ecosystem and creative initiatives.
“Besides being a pioneer in the halal industry, Malaysia continues to lead as one of the largest sukuk issuers in the world, accounting for 32 per cent of the global sukuk issuances in 2020,” he said.
In moving with the digital age, the participation of Malaysian Bumiputera entrepreneurs and MSMEs in the field of digital economy would lead to more breakthroughs as well as penetration of the halal markets locally, abroad and online, Muhyiddin said.
He said economic empowerment of the ummah is crucial to ensure fair and equitable distribution across all targeted groups to spur Malaysia towards becoming a prosperous and inclusive nation in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.
Muhyiddin also said the rolling out of eight stimulus packages worth RM530 billion during his premiership has aided all targeted groups and provided support to businesses.
“The continuation of all these efforts and programmes by the present government under the stewardship of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will see that Malaysia’s recovery agenda is realised soon for the benefit of all,” he said. — Bernama