The importance of manufacturing sector to the economic growth of Malaysia

The main purpose of the study is to examine the importance of manufacturing sector to Malaysia economic growth by using input-output analysis. A comprehensive comparative study is performed by using three years Malaysia Input-Output Tables of 1991, 2000 and 2005. The manufacturing sector is assumed as an exogenous variable in examining the inter-industry relationship and also the impact of it on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and import. In the study, backward and forward linkages and impact analysis are used as primary analytical tool in achieving the objective of the study. Based on the findings, the manufacturing sector is a key driver for economic growth with the strong
backward and forward linkages throughout the period under study. In addition, the expansion of manufacturing sector would give a significance impact on output and there is highest proportion of import commodities use in the production for manufacturing sector