Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri
KUCHING (July 7): Sarawak’s success in achieving a high-income status, according to the latest data by the World Bank, reflects the dedicated efforts of its people, said federal Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She also tags the state’s political stability as another key factor contributing to this accomplishment.
“I am proud to recognise Sarawak’s achievement as a high-income state, as acknowledged by the World Bank.
“Our Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, has been working hard in improving our economy by exploring new economic activities based on our rich resources,” she said.
On the state’s political stability, Nancy regarded it as being important in instilling confidence in the investors, both local and international.
“The fact that Sarawak has been chosen as a venue for various international events demonstrates the trust and interest of people not just from Peninsular Malaysia, but also from around the world.
“We owe this achievement to the outstanding leadership of our state,” she said in a statement today.
On Thursday, World Bank’s Malaysia lead economist Apurva Sanghi tweeted about Sarawak qualifying for a high-income status, as it had Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of more than US$13,205.
“While Malaysia’s quest to join the high-income club continues, there is one nice surprise: Sarawak is now a high income state,” he said on Twitter.
Based on the figures also shared by Apurva on his tweet, Sarawak now joins the ranks of Penang and the federal territories, Labuan and Kuala Lumpur.
Apurva noted that the state-level GDP data had been obtained from the Department of Statistics Malaysia and converted to US dollars applying the World Bank Atlas method, divided by the mid-year population.
On its website, the World Bank says it assigns economies to four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income.
The classifications are updated each year on July 1, and are based on the GNI per capita, measured in US dollar, of the previous year.