- 3 months ago
Belanjawan 2026 memperkenalkan pelbagai reformasi termasuk struktur semula Akaun 3 KWSP dan pelaksanaan Gaji Progresif. Malaysia turut mencatat peningkatan dalam Indeks Keterangkuman Kewangan Global oleh Principal dan Cebr. Munirah Khairuddin, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Principal Asset Management Malaysia, mengupas bagaimana dasar ini memberi kesan kepada pelabur, isi rumah dan masa depan kewangan negara.
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00:00Good morning, I'm Nabila Khalida and you're watching Niagawani Malaysia's Belan Jawaan 2026 table under the Economy Madani Framework
00:06marks a critical turning point in the country's fiscal and financial strategy.
00:11With a projected GDP growth of 4.0% to 4.5%, the budget emphasizes domestic demand, structural reforms and inclusive financial resilience amid global uncertainties.
00:22One standout indicator comes from the Global Financial Inclusion Index 2025, jointly published by Principal Financial Group and Center for Economics and Business Research,
00:32where Malaysia was one of the only two countries globally to record improvements across all three pillars, employee support, government support and financial system support.
00:42And key reforms such as the Progressive Rich Pilot, EPF Account 3 restructure and the rise of earned wage access schemes have contributed to Malaysia's rise in global rankings
00:52and now placed seventh for employer support and 21st overall.
00:56So joining us on set now is Munira Khairuddin, the CEO and Head of Principal Asset Management Southeast Asia.
01:03Tanipak Hao, Belan Jawaan 2026 is shaping investors' sentiment, household resilience and the future of financial inclusion in Malaysia.
01:09Good morning, Munira. How are you?
01:10I'm good. Thank you.
01:11Thank you for joining me this morning in the studio.
01:14Perhaps we could start with a big picture.
01:16Maybe let's start with the index that shows the global inclusion progress, which is dipping slightly this year.
01:22So in your opinion, what do you see as the main reason behind that slowdown?
01:26Is it the cost of living and also the policy fatigue or something that's deeper in the global economy?
01:33What do you think about that?
01:33So Principal Conducted, there's market research of our GFII across 42 markets, 42 countries.
01:40And yes, we did see some decline in the index.
01:45We will attribute it perhaps to a more uncertain environment at the start of the year.
01:51But right now we're seeing, I think, you know, someone like Malaysia has done quite well.
01:56You mentioned the points of our progressive wage strategy, our EPF, Pillar 3.
02:03So I think Malaysia jumped the highest and we're like number seven out of all the markets for employer support in the index.
02:10So I think broad-based globally, you know, this year has been a period of uncertainty.
02:18I would contribute that to, you know, why overall decline globally.
02:23But there are some shiny spots like Malaysia and we've done quite well at the seventh position.
02:29Like I mentioned, we see that the global trend is cooling, but Malaysia is moving in the opposite direction.
02:35So let's move on to Malaysia in the context of Malaysia.
02:38Malaysia is one of the only two markets that's improvised or improved across all three pillars,
02:42like I mentioned earlier, employer, government and so financial support system.
02:46So what's been the key driver for this success, Manira?
02:50You know, I think, you know, global financial inclusion, right, it's a myriad of many contributing factors.
02:58I would attribute our resilience to overall, you know, economic policy, you know, stable markets,
03:07support from, strong support from the private sector.
03:10So it's not one factor that gets us there, but a combination of stability in policy, stability in markets
03:19that gives confidence and rise to employer as well as employee alike in the private market, in private sector.
03:26And we've seen some of those policy shifts play out, you know, quite recently as well,
03:31particularly around wages and also retirement savings.
03:34So let's touch on the progressive wage pilot and also EPF Account 3 restructure that's coming to play.
03:41The report highlights these as contributors.
03:43So can you give us some concrete examples how these are translating into real life, everyday benefits for Malaysia
03:49and households and especially for lower and also middle income?
03:52So if you study developed markets, right, pension system has contributed to a lot of stability in capital markets
04:01because these are, you know, additional pooled savings.
04:06And as the middle income rises, you know, the contribution to capital markets gets more deeper.
04:14As I mentioned, right, there is no one factor.
04:17It's the continuous stability in our policy that has a multiplier effect on capital markets
04:26and in turn into the private markets or the private sector.
04:30There is no one factor.
04:32It is about long-term stability, long-term consistency in policies, stability in governments.
04:39So all those, I think, we're on the right track, actually, for, you know,
04:46even further advancement in financial inclusion and financial markets.
04:50So we've just seen perhaps three frameworks have been, you know,
04:55been focused for the ASEAN that just wrapped up yesterday.
04:58So what do you think?
04:59How can this actually, all the agreements and also discussions in this context
05:04can actually help moving forward?
05:06Yes, I was participating in some of the ASEAN conferences over the last weekend.
05:12Malaysia plays a pivotal role, actually.
05:16While we are a relatively smaller country by demography,
05:22but I think our know-how and our, you know, cultural savviness
05:28in bringing together leaders across the region is something to be, you know, applauded for.
05:34So playing alone in a 700 million economic block of people is not going to work, right?
05:44So I think Malaysia has shown the leadership to be part of the 700 million people.
05:51And with that, we can have a stronger say.
05:54And indeed, you could see all the leaders were in town.
05:57We play a much, much stronger positioning in the global markets rather than, you know, alone in this journey.
06:05But however, all these policies, we can make all these policies, all these frameworks can help.
06:09But the real challenge is demographics, right?
06:12And that's another big challenge.
06:13So we've come to the regions, the aging population is growing,
06:17has become a growing concern, which puts pressure on retirement savings,
06:21and also healthcare and also social security.
06:23So in your opinion, how well prepared is Malaysia to address the financial implications of an aging society as a whole?
06:31And of course, particularly in retirement readiness and long-term care,
06:35are we doing enough or there's so much more to explore?
06:38Yeah, so our income risk replacement ratio,
06:42so basically the IMF and World Bank recommends about 70% in income replacement ratio,
06:47meaning if you retire and you earn RM10,000,
06:51you need to actually have 70% ready for the rest of your, you know, your life, your mortality rate.
06:59Malaysia today, if I'm not mistaken, is about 35%.
07:02So we are halfway there.
07:05And therefore, it's critical that, you know, we do a couple of things,
07:09that we embrace the new economy of digital and technology and healthcare.
07:15And then secondly, it's deepening that retirement pool.
07:20So if we compare ourselves to across the region, we are actually not bad.
07:26You know, EPF has done a fantastic job.
07:28It's just that that income gap is still there.
07:31And then a lot of the B40 are still not equipped, you know, financially.
07:38So therefore, when you're not equipped financially,
07:41it's quite hard to also prepare for retirement.
07:44So besides Aging Society, we've also seen new digital tools reshaping how Malaysia has managed money today.
07:51So you've been a strong advocate for digital micro-investing through platforms like Go Plus Invest.
07:56So how has that platform changed the way Malaysia is approaching saving and also investing at the same time?
08:02And is financial inclusion now extending beyond basic access into retail participation?
08:07And are we seeing real behavioral shifts yet for now?
08:12Yeah, through our data, I mean, we've launched this financial democratization investments on our platform for about three years now.
08:24And you could see that, you know, we went through a journey, a journey of coming up with simple solution,
08:30and then at the same time educating, especially the, you know, the young ones, right?
08:35I'm quite happy to say, actually, when we look into our data, actually, a majority are actually 40 years and below,
08:43with quite acute, you know, higher balances, people between maybe 25 to 35.
08:49So it shows that there's a high embrace on, you know, digital platforms, you know, to encourage savings and financial, you know,
09:02and participation in financial markets.
09:04But it takes quite a concerted effort to educate.
09:08And you could see that that improvement is coming up.
09:13So we need to know how to speak.
09:16So when you dissect that B40, you know, half are maybe hardcore poor, but the other half are actually the younger generation.
09:23It's how you engage with this younger generation.
09:26And I'm actually quite enthused because I could see them picking up.
09:29And the way forward is absolutely digital.
09:32But digital trust is one of the concerns as well.
09:35So how can we actually mitigate to that crisis?
09:38Yeah, so digital trust takes a whole, again, a whole ecosystem framework, right?
09:44We are licensed by a Securities Commission.
09:47And so, you know, we, you know, there's a step-by-step guidelines how to make sure that, you know, we are, we build this trust.
09:56So it's really important to invest in Securities Commission-approved trust with rising of scams, et cetera.
10:03You know, our platform is very stable within a touch-and-go digital.
10:06So I think we've built a lot of trust.
10:10We've acquired four over a million customers on the platform.
10:14And the thing with investing is that you've got to do it continuously and with discipline because the multiplier effect in, you know,
10:23in investing in financial markets will really grant you, you know, long-term returns, especially for the younger ones.
10:31So the younger ones, I find, you know, either they're very conservative or they really go, you know, all out on the high risk.
10:38What about somewhere in between, right?
10:40So steady, stable, consistent, repeatable returns is what I think everyone should be looking for.
10:48But after all, this positive trajectory sustaining is a real concern now.
10:53So what will be the biggest risk Malaysia faces in keeping this positive trajectory?
10:59And you've mentioned economic uncertainty earlier and also financial literacy gaps and demographic pressures.
11:04So which of these are the most pressing ones and how should we prioritize in tackling all this at the same time?
11:10Maybe I'll tackle it from the financial markets perspective today.
11:14I think markets have rallied quite well.
11:16We are expecting quarter four and quarter one to be quite strong in equities, you know, against a few backdrop.
11:25So for Malaysians, right, with Fed is going to cut more interest rates.
11:31So there will be some dollar weakness.
11:33But with that dollar weakness, countries like Malaysia, stability in ringgit, emerging markets should rally, especially in equities.
11:41And we see that, you know, China market seems to show China market has rallied like 30 percent year to date, whether A shares or hate shares.
11:51And so there's a lot of renewed optimism in China.
11:54And Malaysia is, you know, part of that big dependency on how China does.
12:01You know, president, U.S. president will be meeting President Xi Jinping.
12:05And, you know, markets are very anticipative and excited about that because I think it's the first step to improving, you know, stock market in the region.
12:19So, you know, as an investor, it's really important to remain invested and not time the market.
12:28And so therefore rely on fund managers who are, you know, longstanding in this.
12:33You need to continuously remain invested because it's very hard to time the market.
12:38And so in longer periods of time, right, your average return will be stable, right?
12:44Don't try to time the market too much.
12:46In fact, it's a general investment 101, you know, buy on dips, buy on market weakness, add on to your investments and market weakness.
12:55And then now, if you had done that, right, this year when people are, you know, uncertain, look at the markets today, have absolutely rallied.
13:04We have about two minutes left.
13:07So to wrap up this conversation, perhaps in your opinion, what's the outlook for financial inclusion for the next year, 2026?
13:13And we know that private sector engagement matters a lot.
13:16So how can actually Malaysia for the engagement between employers, fintechs, and also private sectors in supporting inclusion efforts as a whole?
13:23Yeah, so I think Malaysia has already climbed that up.
13:27We just need to continue to double down on that.
13:30Sessions like this, right, hopefully will spur on more interest and, you know, investor education.
13:38We need to just continue doing this.
13:40But I do urge that I think we've got to go more digital so that that message, you know, goes wider and employers continue to do a good job together with the government.
13:51All right.
13:51There was Munira Karudin, the CEO, also head of Principal Asset Management Southeast Asia.
13:56And as we've heard, while Malaysia is making headwear in financial inclusion, continued focus on education and digital adoption,
14:04employer and government plays a key role when it comes to making this possible.
14:11So thank you so much again, Munira.
14:13And we can conclude this whole conversation on all of our social media platforms.
14:18And that includes astroawani.com.
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