Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. (Photo: Southeast Asia Globe) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian Prime Minister (PM) Najib Razak has pointed out five risks and challenges facing his country in a message marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The risks and challenges were issues in geopolitics, peace and security, economy, citizens’ benefits and the National Transformation 2050 programme.
The PM said the crisis involving Islamic countries in the Gulf, the Democratic Republic of Korea’s nuclear programme and Brexit are among new geopolitical risks for Malaysia.
They could undermine the prosperity of regional countries and the world if they are not resolved, he added.
The PM also urged his people to avoid being influenced by the ideology of extremism and terrorism of the Islamic State group.
He said that the Southeast Asian country should continue efforts to strengthen positive economic results achieved in the past years, while paying attention to improving locals’ lives, making it one of the 20 world-leading economies by 2050.
He urged all Malaysians to strengthen solidarity, set aside differences and enjoy harmony to move forward together.
Recently, the World Bank increased its projection for Malaysia’s economic expansion this year to 4.9 percent from 4.3 percent due to the country’s strong growth in the first quarter. Meanwhile, two other research institutes, namely Citi Research and UOB Bank Malaysia, forecasted that Malaysian economy will expand 5 percent this year.-VNA
