Economists laud investment shift in 2026 budget, urge private sector leadership

Free Malaysia Today

The pivot to investment-led growth wins praise with a warning that private firms must take the lead to sustain innovation, jobs, and long-term economic gains.  Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/10/23/economists-laud-investment-shift-in-2026-budget-urge-private-sector-leadership  Laporan Lanjut:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2025/10/23/tumpuan-pelaburan-positif-namun-penganalisis-gesa-swasta-terajui-pertumbuhan  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews

Transcript

00:00Economists have welcomed the government's shift toward investment-led growth in the 2026 budget,

00:06but cautioned that the private sector must take the lead to maintain momentum.

00:11The RM470 billion budget allocated RM50.8 billion for investments via government-linked investment companies,

00:19public-private partnerships, statutory bodies, and the Ministry of Finance, Inc.,

00:24plus RM30 billion for the GEARUP initiative to boost domestic investment through GLICs.

00:30Economist Jeffrey Williams described the approach as a pragmatic evolution in economic management

00:35aimed at pushing growth through investment,

00:38as real growth comes from raising the supply-side potential of the economy.

00:43He said allocating part of development expenditure through GLICs balances fiscal prudence with market efficiency,

00:50helping to reduce the deficit while delivering potential returns to contributors through annual dividends.

00:56However, Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of the Centre for Market Education,

01:02said Malaysia must now focus on crowding in private investment rather than crowding it out.

01:08To reduce reliance on GLICs, Ferlito pointed to enterprise networks,

01:13collaborations among SMEs that with fiscal incentives could boost competitiveness

01:17competitiveness without sacrificing entrepreneurial independence.

01:21Hanyu Zhou, FMT.

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