KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak expressed his gratefulness today that the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government did not cancel the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) in Malaysia led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

The former prime minister said the DFTZ, a regional logistics hub for small and medium-sized businesses which was launched last November under his administration, was expected to create 60,000 jobs, facilitate US$65 billion (RM259.1 billion) worth of traded goods by 2025, and double trans-shipment and cargo volume for Malaysia by 2025. 

"Initiatives like DFTZ are also tools to prepare the young people for jobs that do not even exist yet,” Najib said on his Facebook page.

“The digital economy is the fastest growing sector in our economy. It currently accounts for 18.2 per cent of our GDP (gross domestic product) and is expected to grow and contribute 20 per cent to our country’s GDP by 2020.”

Najib also congratulated Alibaba Group on the opening of its Kuala Lumpur office today, its first office in Southeast Asia and the first outside China.

Since PH won the 14th general election last month, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been reviewing several major projects undertaken by the previous Barisan Nasional government, including the China-backed East Coast Rail Line project.

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1643074/najib-im-grateful-digital-free-trade-zone-wasnt-cancelled