ECONOMIC CENSUS 2023 LAUNCHED TODAY, DATA WILL ALLOW GOVT TO PLAN ECONOMIC POLICY - RAFIZI

KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) has today launched the Economic Census 2023 (BE2023) which aims to collect information on organisations for the reference year 2022.

The economic census, which covers all business establishments and non-profit organisations in Malaysia, includes all economic sectors namely agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining & quarrying and services.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said the data that will be obtained through BE2023 will enable the government to gauge the fabric of society and the economy, as well as see the breakdown and types of enterprises in the country.

“This is because one of the challenges is that about 95 per cent of existing enterprises comprise micro (75.2 per cent) and small (20.5 per cent) enterprises in this country.

“So we (the government) need the involvement of business organisations to participate in Economic Census 2023 to enable the government to understand the current economic situation, identify which sectors are contributing, and what forms, policies and incentives are needed to support the growth of companies or enterprises in this country,” he told the media after officiating at the launch of BE2023 here today.

Rafizi added that the government wants to see the ability and capacity of micro and small businesses increased to a reasonable level in the medium and long term so that they can participate in higher value chains and go international or be at the export level.

This also allows them to offer higher wages and reduce the cost of living of the people, he said.

“So the data in the Economic Census 2023 is important so that we can plan steps towards building the scale and resilience of our companies so that more companies can grow bigger.

“The data will allow us the insights to decide the right prescription and intervention, and at what cost to the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that for the fifth BE2023, all business organisations and non-profit organisations including wholesale and retail trade will be covered simultaneously to obtain 'baseline figures' in the same period.

He estimated that a total of 1,400 part-time officers will be employed throughout the country for the implementation of BE2023.

Themed 'National Economic Catalyst Data', BE2023 also aims to assess the achievements of the 12th Malaysia Plan in addition to helping the federal and state governments make effective strategic plans, said Mohd Uzir.

The first economic census was held in 2000, while the last census was in 2016.

He said this economic census was supposed to be conducted in 2021 but was postponed due to the  COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country in March 2020.

-- BERNAMA