PETALING JAYA: The new administration will focus on restoring Malaysians’ prosperity and strengthening the private sector’s role as the main engine of the economy to help reduce the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, says the Prime Minister.

       In his maiden address to the nation yesterday, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Covid-19 pandemic had severely impacted global and domestic economies, with various industrial sectors, especially small and medium industries (SMIs), affected.

       “Some are still struggling while others have gone bankrupt. This has brought a severe impact to our people’s economy and country at large.

       “To lessen the economic effects, the government will focus its efforts on achieving two main objectives.

       “The first is to restore the prosperity of the rakyat by increasing their purchasing power.

       “The second is to restore the private sector’s role as significant drivers of the nation’s economic growth,” he added.

       Ismail Sabri said his administration would focus on Malaysians who had lost their jobs and their only source of income, those in the middle income group, SMIs and various sectors, including domestic tourism.

       “This focus is part of the short-term initiatives to return vibrancy to the people’s economy as well as stimulate the national economy holistically.

       “I will personally ensure that no one will be left behind or neglected, regardless of race, religion or ethnic differences,” he added.

       The government, said Ismail Sabri, would also continue working with the people to develop new economic strategies and implement other vital strategies to further strengthen the country’s fundamentals and put Malaysia on the map again as the premier investment destination in South-East Asia.

       “To maintain and achieve the stated objectives, we need the involvement of young Malaysians. For this, I will ensure that the voice of youth is heard and considered in this government.

       “To the young people out there, worry not – your involvement is highly appreciated and it is my fervent hope that you will be together with this government in ensuring the success of our national recovery agenda,” he added, calling the Covid-19 pandemic the country’s “common enemy”.

       Ismail Sabri said previous government strategies in curbing the virus would be continued and further enhanced by taking into account the views of public health experts.

       He said he would also ensure that each effort and intervention measure by the government to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases would be carried out in a comprehensive manner.

       “This will be implemented via strategic inter-governmental cooperation with the involvement of all stakeholders from both public and private sectors,” he said.

       Ismail Sabri said thanks to the continuous efforts of the previous administration, Malaysia’s vaccination rate was now one of the highest in the world, with over 500,000 doses administered daily.

       “This government will continue with the efforts carried out previously so that we can quickly transition to the next phase of the country’s recovery by achieving our target of herd immunity.

       “To achieve our target earlier, the government will ensure that initiatives and strategies under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme are boosted,” he said, announcing the additional purchase of six million doses of vaccines that would arrive in early September.

       Thanking all Malaysians who had got themselves vaccinated, Ismail Sabri said fighting the pandemic successfully required the commitment of all families.