1. Improve governance and eradicate corruption
“When corruption becomes institutionalised, it poisons the ability of a nation to attract investors and create jobs. Young people understand this better than most,” said Lagarde.
Therefore, she is heartened by the steps the Government has taken to combat corruption, such as establishing the National Centre for Governance Integrity and Anti-Corruption in 2018 and launching an anti-corruption plan in January this year.
“We believe these measures can help attract businesses to invest across Malaysia and in turn generate new jobs and opportunities for all citizens. But it is only one ingredient in the mix,” she said.
2. Invest in high quality education
Lagarde noted that Malaysia faces a few challenges in the education front.
“Malaysia still ranks below the OECD average in math, reading, and science. Regional and socio-economic disparities persist across the country and for certain groups, especially lower-skilled adults, automation is threatening jobs,” she said.
However, Malaysia has a “clear path forward” to improve in this area.
Some of the recommendations given by Lagarde include increasing the funding for learning and skills retraining programmes and to be creative on training people, such as to offer more online or and part-time courses.
“Investments in high-quality education can reduce skill mismatches, raise wages, and help all Malaysians harness the potential of new technologies,” she said.
3. Boost Labour Force Participation of Women
Empowering women can boost growth and help make it more inclusive.
However, Malaysian women face several challenges: They tend to have less access to the labour market and fewer career opportunities compared to other neighbouring countries. Also, women in Malaysia about one-third less than men on average, and this is due to discrimination in the workplace, said Lagarde.
However, Lagarde is heartened that Malaysia is taking positive steps in the right direction, such as:
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More women are becoming leaders and appointed to cabinet positions
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New laws have been implemented to protect women’s jobs while they are on maternity leave
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Gender discrimination is being removed at the workplace
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Measures by the Government in the recent budget to increase paid family leave
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The mandate to have at least 30% female representation on a government-linked company’s board
“The IMF believes that taken together, these efforts can raise female labour force participation rates to over 56 per cent by 2020. In turn, this could mean a boost to GDP growth and overall productivity in the economy,” she said.