PETALING JAYA, Sept 8 — Economic growth, an increase in investment, exports and job opportunities as well as continuous low inflation are among the fundamentals that will help Malaysia to move forward as a rapidly developing country, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

With these features in place, coupled with political stability, the government will then be able to focus on developing the country, he said.

"These are excellent features to have as we continue to develop from an economic point of view, and with a robust economy, the people’s social standing can then improve.

"We will then be able to focus on the existing political stability to continue to develop and improve the economy for the well-being of the people," he told reporters after launching participants at the Duo Highway Challenge 2024 run here today.

He said this in response to the speech by Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, in which His Majesty expressed his joy about the state of the Malaysian economy and the country’s improved trade performance.

His Majesty also hopes that the government will continue to work to stimulate the national economy, create more job opportunities and raise the income and living standard of the people.

Sultan Ibrahim said this at the investiture ceremony during the conferment of awards, medals and honours in conjunction with His Majesty’s official birthday on Saturday.

Fadillah, who is also the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said Malaysia is among the countries that recorded excellent economic growth despite the global economic uncertainty, as evidenced by 5.9 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2024 against 4.2 per cent in the same period a year ago, he said. — Bernama