Page 106 - 60 Years Generating National Statistics

BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA

The Department of Statistics, Malaysia (DOSM) has come a long way since its inception
in 1949. The Malaysian economy has, over this period, transformed significantly.
DOSM has kept up with the changes and has expanded the scope of its statistical
coverage, improved the timeline of the data production and broaden the data
dissemination. This has provided reliable indicators for analysis and assessment of the
state of the economy with greater accuracy and has facilitated national economic
planning as well as for the private sector economic activity. I would like to take this
opportunity to congratulate DOSM on its significant achievements which has met
the best practices and international standards.

Over the years, DOSM and Bank Negara Malaysia have worked collaboratively
in pursuit of a common economic development agenda. The major national
macroeconomic statistics and indicators, including the gross domestic product,
consumer price index, and trade data are key inputs for the formulation of
economic and financial policies. The Bank also provides financial data to DOSM for
its compilation of financial statistics. This collaboration between the Bank and DOSM
has strengthened in this recent ten years. More recently, Bank Negara Malaysia led
a review team to assist in the transformation of DOSM to become an even more
effective national statistical agency for the country. Bank Negara Malaysia has also
signed an MoU with DOSM last year on data sharing.

While much has been achieved by DOSM, the rapidly changing global economic and
financial environment will present a more challenging role for DOSM. With changes
in the global environment and in our own domestic economic structure, the need for
prompt responses has become greater. There is, therefore, heightened expectations
for broader coverage, timeliness and reliable range of statistical services. The global
financial and economic crisis has highlighted the criticality of the coverage of statistics
to enable accurate diagnosis of the developments and for timely formulation of
sound policies. Moving forward, enhancing the services continuously through the
adoption of advanced statistical techniques and methodologies, as well as having
the agility to continuously evolve are equally important.

With its enhanced professional staff, the high level of expertise, as well as the
supporting new ICT infrastructure, I am confident that DOSM will move into the rank
as a premier statistical agency that will be able to meet the increasingly demanding
needs for statistical services of the public and private sectors.

Thank you.

Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz
Governor
Bank Negara Malaysia
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