The government is prepared to act to safeguard welfare and economic growth amid renewed West Asia conflict and rising oil prices
KUALA LUMPUR: The government is prepared to take the appropriate measures to safeguard the people’s welfare and sustain the country’s economic growth following the renewed escalation of geopolitical conflict in West Asia, said Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah.
He noted that the United States-Iran conflict, which reignited on July 8, 2026, has caused global oil prices to rise, thereby increasing the risk of higher production input costs.
Hence, Mohd Shahar said, the government is closely monitoring the situation as it has the potential to put pressure on industrial production costs and the prices of goods, particularly if the conflict persists.
“The government has mobilised various strategic and integrated intervention measures based on four key approaches: ensuring supplies, prolonging supply availability, curbing price increases, and capitalising on available opportunities.
“These approaches are aimed at protecting the people, stabilising supplies and prices, providing support to firms and industries, and strengthening economic resilience over the medium and long term through targeted interventions,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara today.
He was responding to a question from Senator Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar regarding the impact of trade disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz on the national economy and the government’s contingency plans should the crisis persist.
Mohd Shahar said that to stabilise supplies and prices, the government is also strengthening bilateral cooperation based on the country’s strategic needs, including with Australia which focuses on the continuity of energy and agricultural input supplies, while cooperation with Russia is focused on the energy, technology, and trade sectors.
“The government is also providing support to firms and industries through the RM5 billion Small and Medium Enterprise Stabilisation Relief Facility (SME SRF).
“The government is also enhancing economic resilience by accelerating the implementation of the National Energy Transition Roadmap, New Industrial Master Plan 2030, National Semiconductor Strategy, and Malaysia Digital 2030 action plan,” he added.
