By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — High domestic demand helps fuel the country’s current economic growth, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.
The deputy prime minister said that Malaysia has lessened its dependence on imported goods, and that proof of this was the decline in import growth — from 21.7 per cent in 2010 to 8.6 per cent last year.
“In 2011, domestic demand grew at a rate of 8.2 per cent, an increase of 1.9 per cent from the year before. The increase of demand can be seen since 2009, when the first Malaysian Goods Expo was held,” he said at the launch of the “Buy Malaysian products Expo 2012” here.
According to Muhyiddin, the country’s economy managed to stave off the global economic slump, recording gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.7 per cent during the first quarter of this year.
Muhyiddin said this was despite the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone and the earlier banking crisis in the United States.
“Our GDP is higher compared to other countries like the United States, Japan and Hong Kong.
“Our neighbouring countries, Singapore and Thailand, have only managed to record a 1.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent growth for this year,” he said.
Muhyiddin added that this year’s International Institute for Management Development (IMD) report placed Malaysia as having the 13th most efficient government administration in the world, as well as being the 14th most competitive country.
“The economic growth enjoyed since the country’s independence is proof of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s ability to manage the economy well for all this while,” he stressed.