With the 14th General Election coming up sometime this year, many Malaysians are eager to see what our leaders have in store for our country, and where our economy will be in the future.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak addressed this matter during a forum about the effects of Budget 2018 on Malaysian households at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (PPUKM) earlier today (22nd February).
Source: the mole
During his speech, he noted that like other countries heading towards economic maturity, Malaysia was seeing a drop in birth rates. In light of this, he encouraged Malaysians to continue reproducing. He was quoted by Free Malaysia Today as saying,
“So, those of you who are still at child bearing age, continue to give birth, that’s my message, because we need a bigger population.”
It was at this event where he also officially announced the government’s trust fund, Amanah Dana Anak Malaysia 2050 (Adam50). This programme will give out RM200 in units of the Amanah Saham Bumiputera (AS1M) to babies born on or after 1st January 2018 until 2022.
“It is because we want to encourage the people to have a mindset to save for the future. Many of our people do not anticipate the need, the children’s need,” he continued.
“We can contribute, little by little, and when the time comes for our children to go to university, the money is there.”
Source: tv14
The Adam50 programme is applicable to all children born between 2018 and 2022, and have registered their birth within a year from their birth dates and the savings can only be withdrawn after they turn 18 years old.
At the event, Prime Minister Najib also described his vision of what Malaysia will be like in the year 2050, stating that we will be “prosperous, ultra-modern, and equitable.”
What do you think of this new programme? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: PM Najib Thanks M’sian Chinese for ‘Nation-Building Role’ in CNY Speech
