PM Muhyiddin said, “Malaysia needs to produce critical products”

Malaysia needs to have the capability to produce critical products, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said this covered the food and beverage sector, medical devices, medicines, petrochemicals, and personal protective equipment like gloves and face masks.

“When the country has this capability, we can reduce the outflow of the Malaysian currency and increase the export of local products,” he said when launching the national-level Mega Sales Programme and Buy Malaysian Products Campaign at Suria KLCC here today.

Therefore, the government is studying and review the existing policies to reduce dependence on imported products and give priority to building the capacity of local industries to produce made in Malaysia products, he added.

The world including Malaysia has been grappling with the challenge of weak economic growth in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Small and medium enterprises (SME), medium-size companies and multinationals have faced difficulties in terms of cash flow and loss of or drop in customers,” he added.

Muhyiddin said supply chains were also affected, especially for industries and the services sector which depend on raw materials, components and imports.