Carmelo Ferlito of the Center for Market Education and Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Razak said quick action is required on several fronts.

Ferlito said Malaysia should look into the possibility of rebuilding its manufacturing base as it had shifted too quickly from manufacturing to the services sector.

“Malaysia needs to re-attract manufacturing investments because manufacturing creates added value and brings in technology,” he told FMT.

He also said there should be reforms in the banking and labour sectors to provide a conducive environment for foreign and domestic investments.

“These labour reforms could involve liberalising the entry of foreign workers and relaxing rules for expatriates to move Asean closer to a completely free-labour market.

“Banking reforms, on the other hand, include making it easier for foreign-owned businesses to open bank accounts and introduce corporate credit cards before the two years of certified balance sheets,” he said.

Barjoyai said the cost of living must be tackled immediately because of its multiplier effect on the country’s growth.

“This is because 65% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is determined by household consumption,” he said.

“So, if we can increase household income, which would increase their consumption, we can be assured that the GDP will be stable moving forward.”

He said to reduce the cost of living, the government should capitalise on the low inflation rate of 3.8% by introducing mechanisms to further slow it down.

This could be accomplished through concession prices for certain food items and even encouraging people to buy local produce, he said.

On Friday, Musa told the Parliament Lecture Series 1.0 the time to talk about the various issues faced by the country has passed, and proactive action must be taken immediately to solve them.

He said the public will give the government three to six months to act and, after that, “they are not going to be polite with you”.