Najib launches Malaysia Productivity Blueprint

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak yesterday launched the Malaysia Productivity Blueprint and set a minimum target to achieve an annual labour productivity growth of 3.7% by 2020. 
Najib, who is also the finance minister, said the productivity blueprint outlines five strategic thrusts, 10 national initiatives, 32 sectoral initiatives and 16 key activities.
He said the blueprint will serve as a holistic measure to target initiatives to open up potential productivity at national, sectoral and industrial levels.
The five strategic thrusts are: to create manpower for the future, spearhead the digital drive and innovation, ensure industry accountability towards productivity, build a strong ecosystem and put in place a strong implementation mechanism. 
“An effective productivity increase will serve as the basis to encourage sustained economic growth and contribute towards the country’s aspiration to emerge as a high-income nation and among the top 20 developed nation by 2015,” Najib said.
This aspiration is in tandem with the 11th Malaysia Plan, which emphasises productivity being the thrust of economic growth, he added.
“This is the reason why the government wants to enhance the productivity level to an annual growth of 3.7%. Today, it is still below target (3.3% in 2015),” he said when launching the blueprint.
Najib is chairman of the National Productivity Council, which will not only supervise the country’s productivity agenda but will also meet every quarter to get a status update. – Bernama