'Malaysia 2013 GDP growth may surpass last year's 5.6pc'

YB Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop

ROBUST OUTLOOK: 

Investment by public and private sectors, backed by strong domestic consumption, to be prime movers

MALAYSIA'S gross domestic product (GDP) this year is expected to rally behind the strong momentum recorded last year and may even outperform the 5.6 per cent growth achieved in 2012.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said investment and strong domestic consumption, backed by improving external demand, will be the prime movers for the growth.

He said investment by both public and private sectors will remain the main engines of growth.

Ongoing projects under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) are among the key investments that will create a huge impact on the economy.

Nor Mohamed, under whose portfolio the Economic Planning Unit falls, pointed out that the RM23 billion MY Rapid Transit (MRT) project in Kuala Lumpur is one of the examples of high-impact projects under the ongoing transformation programmes.

"The bigger portion of the MRT will take off this year and we expect to see a significant impact from this project.

"This positive outlook is also based on the ongoing multi-billion ringgit development projects at the Iskandar Development Corridor in Johor while in Penang, the completion of the Second Bridge this year is expected to create positive impact on the state's growth," he said.

Nor Mohamed was speaking after handing over 1Malaysia Book Vouchers to Universiti Sains Malaysia students at its main campus in Gelugor yesterday.

He added that domestic consumption is expected to remain strong and cash aid, such as the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M 2.0), will further boost the people's expenditures.

"These cash handouts will boost the domestic consumption and the velocity of money in our economy," he said.

On Wednesday, Bank Negara announced that Malaysia recorded a 6.4 per cent growth for the last quarter, which translates into an annual growth of 5.6 per cent in GDP year-on-year.

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