KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — Post-movement control order (MCO) Malaysia could adopt a new economic strategy by focusing on sectors such as manufacturing and food agriculture (agri-food), said economist Nungsari Ahmad Radhi.

The former Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) chairman said that the emphasis on oil and gas as well as commodities that has been in place since the 1970s will not create the labour demands that are needed to ensure better job security and opportunities as more and more of the country’s workforce are affected by the Covid-19 fallout.

He said that Malaysia’s existing infrastructure would allow a head start in the manufacturing and agri-food sectors that feed the global supply chain.

"What the economy does changes the labour demands that the economy wants.

"If we keep doing the same thing, basically plantations, oil and gas, and tourism-related services, that kind of activity doesn’t create enough labour demands that pay enough.

"The disruption of the supply chain in the new normal will have a little bit of reverse globalisation that opens up opportunity.

"One is in manufacturing and the other is in agri-food where we may have a chance and related to those will be the logistics and financials and the processing that goes towards supporting both,” he said in a Webinar titled Parliamentary Roundtable #1 — Next Normal for Jobs (Labour Day Special) organised by Institut Darul Ehsan today.

The former Balik Pulau MP said Malaysia could take advantage of the current disruption in the global supply chain as Multinational Corporations (MNC) might be looking to relocate their companies from China.

"There will be a slight reversal of MNCs in locating too many things in China. And plus, China is no longer a cheap place compared to Malaysia in terms of wages.

"So, we are in a good place for manufacturing and we could prepare to take on some of this relocation of global businesses of MNCs as part of the process of consolidating the global supply chain,” he said.

Nungsari said Malaysia is also well placed in terms of demographics and technical know-how in agriculture, especially food-related products.

This could allow it to move away from just planting commodities to providing a wider array of jobs in supporting sectors, he added.

Other panels in the Webinar are PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) executive director Tan E. Hun and economist Hafiz Noor Shams.