KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — The government is restoring the role of the private sector to be Malaysia’s main economic driver amid a global market slowdown, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

Speaking to a group of experts in the oil and gas industry at a conference here, Najib said the move was among several proactive measures the government is taking to diversify the country’s economy.

Previously, he said, public spending and investment accounted to a “considerable proportion” of the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP).

“But between 2011-2015, the private sector and private consumption and investment, both foreign and domestic, overtook the government and public sector.

“In 2015, the private sector contributed 69.2 per cent of GDP, giving us one of the highest growth amongst countries of similar-sized GDP,” he said in the opening of Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2016.

Najib said this meant the country has earned the confidence of investors.

“Private sector will only invest and put its money into a country where there is a future- a future where sufficient returns will be gained from investments made,” he said.

Last year, he said the country received RM150.5 billion and RM36.1 billion in domestic and foreign investments, respectively.

These, he said, had helped created more than 180,000 employment opportunities in 2015.

“While we are cognizant of our challenges, those prevailing and those that may head our way, we must be confident in our fundamentals, indeed, we must be confident of our strengths,” Najib said.

He added that the end of fuel subsidies and the introduction of goods and services tax (GST) were timely measures to ensure the nation’s economy remained resilient.