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equality. We are proud to say that our budget deficit, inflation and
unemployment is low comparatively with the regional nations and thus our
economy plans are indeed effective.
We are expecting an economic growth rate of 4.3 to 4.5 percent for the
year 2017 and this is indeed an encouraging mark in equal realms with
developed regions like Europe and North America. This is in accordance
with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections which slashed its
forecast of global growth to 3.1% in 2016, before recovering to 3.4% in
2017. Emerging markets and developing countries are expected to register
growth of 4.2% in 2016 and 4.6% in 2017.
The IMF had forecasted Malaysian economy to continuously perform well,
with Real GDP growth is projected to increase to around 4.5 percent in
2017. And Federal government debt is expected to remain below 55
percent of GDP.
In a similar vein, in terms of economy and business activity in Malaysia, the
Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2016-2017 released by the World
Economic Forum (WEF) on 28th September 2016, ranks Malaysia 25th out
of 138 economies with a score of 5.16. In term of scores, our performance
came down from 5.23 to 5.16 out of a maximum of 7. Meanwhile, countries
and territories that also slipped in their ranking include Germany, Japan,
Hong Kong SAR, Finland, Canada, France, Thailand Indonesia and the
Philippines. Collectively, in terms of ease in doing business in Malaysia, our
country has been ranked 23rd out of 190 economies in the World Bank
Doing Business 2017 Report released recently, slipped only one step from
last year. Hence, the Malaysian economy is set to perform well even though
it is facing turbulent headwinds.
With the backdrop of a promising economy, Malaysia is set to sail
challengingly in a world that is changing rapidly. The government needs a
vibrant and responsive public service that can manoeuvre in these
paradigms with diligence and tactfulness. Globally, the converging trends
of population growth, ageing societies, rising public expectations,
budgetary constraints, and technological advancements are among the few
trends to have created intense pressure on the public service, compelling it
to evaluate and reassess the way it should be operating, so as to deliver its
services more efficiently.
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