High income target not an empty dream: Najib

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia: The goal of becoming a high income nation is not an empty dream but a realistic target based on years of prudent and careful management of the country, the Prime Minister said.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said there was already a trend of average income of Malaysians growing at a fast pace.

In 2009, our per capita income was US$6,700 (S$8,414) and this jumped to US$9,700 last year, he said when launching the Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (Malaysian Unit Trust Week) here.

Najib said the success attained by the nation so far was due to the right policies drawn up successive governments since independence.

At every election, we have been given a strong mandate to form the government and this in turn has contributed to political stability.

He said the right policies have also made Malaysia a safer place to appoint where the government could abolish security laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA).

We have a good track record in developing our country, he added in giving the example of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) that was one of the most successful Malaysian financial institutions with a total of 144bil units sold.

Najib also urged companies under PNB to step up economic activities in Sabah to cash in on the investment opportunities available in the state.

He said vast investment potential has been identified by the National Key Economic Areas including downstream oil palm activities, to explore seaweed development, mini-estates and tourism.

"In this way, we can ensure national economic reforms is not concentrated in one area but is diversified to cover every region in the country," he said.