THE development of a nation cannot be gauged by growth numbers alone, but must be measured by the people’s prosperity, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad in revealing the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan.

The prime minister said that key determiners of growth include the gap between the haves and have-notes in society, as economic development should leave no states or communities behind.

“We must view growth from the purchasing power of Malaysians and development must be shared by all or what is known as shared prosperity,” he said in Parliament today.

“There shouldn’t be any communities that feel they are left behind the wave of development. Development also should not leave behind any states.”

The 93-year-old said that Malaysia grew at an average of 5.15% under an inflationary rate of 2.9%, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita had also increased at an average rate of 6.7% from RM36,119 in 2015 to RM41,093 in 2017.

However, many Malaysians did not benefit from the growth.

“Most of the growth was felt by the capitalists and only a third of the growth was felt by workers. The gap between skilled and semi-skilled workers is also very high.

“As such, the growth was not felt by most Malaysians,” said Dr Mahathir.

He said that for economic development to take place, the administration of a government must be free from corruption.

“Development in real terms needs to contribute to the development of the Malaysian race.

“Economic development which is continuous and fair needs a non-economic environment which is strong and free from political influence.

“The government must also be clean from corruption and abuse of power. (Thus) the wealth of the nation will not be robbed by any party,” said Dr Mahathir.

The mid-term review covers the period of 2016 and 2017, and is the first major policy announcement by the new Pakatan Harapan government in Parliament since coming into power on May 9.

The report had noted that while the country saw an overall increase in GDP over the last two years, economic inequality between the states have widened, with Kelantan recording the biggest gap at 67.8% below the national average.

Dr Mahathir had unveiled a slight revamp to the five-year economic blueprint, with a focus on implementing good governance practices and policies. – October 18, 2018.