By Lee Wei Lian
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — Malaysia’s economy grew at a surprising pace of 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, blowing away economist’s expectations and potentially giving rise to a feel-good factor ahead of the general elections.
The pace of growth was much higher than the 4.6 per cent average forecast by economists polled by financial newswire Dow Jones and also higher than the 4.9 per cent recorded in the first quarter.
Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhbar Aziz (picture) said at a press conference announcing the GDP figures that the robust growth was due to strong domestic demand amid a weaker global economy.
She added that given the country’s robust economic performance, the GDP growth for the whole year is expected to come in at the upper end of the four to five per cent official forecast.
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