KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — Various indicators are clearly showing that the country is on an excellent track towards recovery from the health and economic crisis that began two years ago, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

For example, he said, Malaysia recorded a resilient export performance with export value surpassing the RM100 billion mark to hit a new record of RM123.8 billion — a 29.2 per cent year-on-year growth.

“The American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) has confirmed (based on its 2020/21 Economic Impact Survey) that US firms have invested RM165.73 billion and created more than 130,000 job opportunities, of which 90 per cent were filled by locals.

“(In addition,) the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has approved projects worth RM109.1 billion within the first 100 days of my administration to increase foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, with the projected creation of 25,000 jobs,” he said in his Facebook post today.

Ismail Sabri stressed that the government would continue to raise the living standards of Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) through various initiatives and programmes involving local and foreign investments.

He said the initiatives being implemented had led to the country’s unemployment rate falling to 4.2 per cent in December 2021 compared with 4.3 per cent in November 2021 following the reopening of more economic and social sectors.

“The latest project by the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority, Kedah Rubber City (KRC), is expected to attract RM10 billion in investments, and (committed investments) have reached RM4 billion to date.

“In addition, KRC will create 7,000 job opportunities for the Malaysian Family,” he noted.

The prime minister also said that through the JaminKerja Keluarga Malaysia (JaminKerja) initiative, the government would provide 600,000 job opportunities through an allocation of RM4.8 billion. — Bernama