Malaysia on Track for Third Straight Year of GDP Growth Above Five Per Cent, Says Amir Hamzah

Lina AI 22 minutes ago 4 minutes read

PUTRAJAYA, November 15, 2026 — The Malaysian economy is expected to record growth of more than five per cent for the third consecutive year, driven by consistently strong economic performance, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said on Sunday.

He said Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.1 per cent in 2024 and 5.2 per cent in 2025, and that this year’s performance was showing the same momentum. “Alhamdulillah, the important thing is that our GDP this year, God willing, will exceed five per cent for three consecutive years,” he told reporters at the 2026 Finance Run programme organised by the Ministry of Finance in conjunction with National Sports Day in Putrajaya.

Amir Hamzah also shared preliminary estimates released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), which indicated that the economy was expected to grow by 5.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2026. He was commenting on the third-quarter GDP performance, which DOSM is scheduled to announce on November 18. GDP growth for the first nine months of 2026 has so far been reported at 5.5 per cent.

He said the figures reflected the government’s efforts, through the MADANI Economic framework, to raise the country’s economic “ceiling” and thereby create more economic and job opportunities. Raising that ceiling, he said, would create better opportunities at home, including higher-quality jobs, and would give the government more room to strengthen the economy’s “floor” so that the benefits of growth could be more widely felt.

In this regard, he said Budget 2027 emphasises efforts to raise people’s incomes, including through raising the minimum wage and encouraging government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and government-linked companies (GLCs) to offer fairer wages. “We can see that many of the initiatives we have undertaken, including the minimum wage policy and efforts involving GLICs and GLCs to raise wages to appropriate levels, are aimed at ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are also passed on to the people,” he said.

He said the government understood that not all citizens would benefit directly from economic growth, and that targeted assistance such as the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) would therefore continue to be strengthened. Efforts under the Payung Rahmah initiative had also been intensified to help address cost-of-living pressures, he added. “This is a comprehensive effort by the MADANI Government, as we are not only focused on boosting the economy but also want to ensure that the people feel the benefits of the country’s economic prosperity,” he said.

Asked about monetary policy after the same event, Amir Hamzah said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had maintained the overnight policy rate (OPR) because inflation was under control and economic growth remained strong, leaving room for businesses to continue growing with stable financing conditions. “Bank Negara, through the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), sees the inflation situation in the country as under control and GDP growth as remaining strong. So, it has taken the approach of maintaining the OPR. This gives businesses room to continue growing,” he said.

Earlier this month, the MPC maintained the OPR at 2.75 per cent in its sixth and final meeting of the year, Bernama reported. Amir Hamzah said Malaysia’s present situation differed from that in some countries facing high inflation, overheating and supply-chain disruptions, which can lead central banks to use interest rates to restrain the economy. He added that decisions on the OPR remain under BNM’s jurisdiction through the MPC, based on assessments of current economic and inflation conditions.

Bernama also reported that market analysts expect the OPR to be raised by 25 basis points to three per cent in the first quarter of 2027, citing resilient growth and the central bank’s elevated inflation projections. That is a market expectation, not a decision announced by BNM or the minister.

The Finance Run 2026, organised annually with the ministry and its agencies, attracted more than 2,000 participants. Amir Hamzah said the programme, originally scheduled two weeks earlier, had been postponed because of the haze. This year it was hosted by the Department of Valuation and Property Services (JPPH), with agencies taking turns to organise sporting activities.

Sources: Bernama and The Star, reporting Amir Hamzah’s remarks at the 2026 Finance Run in Putrajaya on November 15.