International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said he was optimistic that Malaysia would not face a recession even though the country’s economic growth this year is projected to moderate compared with 2022. Bank Negara Malaysia, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank have projected for Malaysia to continue achieving positive economic growth in the 3-5% range. Tengku Zafrul said they need to ensure all of their engines of growth keep firing, especially in terms of trade and investment. He said they need to attract high-quality investment that can provide jobs to their people and increase the national income. They also want to translate foreign direct investment into domestic direct investment and develop small-and-medium enterprises that can provide services and become suppliers to multinational corporations operating in the country.