SHARED prosperity will be the driving principle for the country’s development in the next 10 years, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in conjunction with the first year anniversary of the Pakatan Harapan administration.

This is necessary to end income inequality among Malaysians irrespective of class, ethnic group or region, he said in a special address in Putrajaya attended by ministers.

“The aim of shared prosperity is to provide a decent standard of living to all Malaysians.

“The aim of shared prosperity is to ensure that all people will benefit from the nation’s wealth fairly and equitably,” he said in the speech that was televised on RTM.

The special message was both a report on the government’s achievements in the past one year and its plans going forward.

Dr Mahathir said this “shared prosperity vision” will reduce income inequality by helping and empowering those who have been left behind.

He added it is a new development model that will create a more progressive economy that will involve citizens at every level, while making Malaysia an important economic pillar in Asia.

The prime minister also said the government will no longer just rely on gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures to measure the country’s level of development.

“The success of the government’s development programmes will be measured by the people’s wages and household incomes, asset ownership, their involvement in the supply and production chain, and the size of the rural-urban divide.”

All these components will measure how much the nation’s prosperity has been shared fairly and equitably, he said.

He hoped that this new development vision will be discussed at a deeper level and the feedback from all stakeholders will be included in Malaysia’s development plans until 2030.

“The government will continue to work towards ensuring that all these initiatives under its promises will be fulfilled so that all future achievements will be based on inclusivity, justice so that the nation’s wealth will be shared by all based on the spirit of shared prosperity.” – May 9, 2019