KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 9): Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur (ECKL) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar has welcomed the government’s announcement to move Klang Valley into the second phase of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), pointing out that this move will make the prospects of achieving 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year clearer.
“We welcome yesterday’s announcement of Klang Valley moving into Phase 2 of the NRP from tomorrow, Sept 10, 2021.
“As more economic activities being permitted gradually in line with the NRP, the prospects of achieving 4% GDP growth in 2021 will become clearer,” he said in his welcome address at the National Recovery Summit — “Winning the War against COVID — The Road to Recovery”, jointly organised by the National Recovery Council, ECKL and the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific today.
Abdul Wahid noted no one anticipated the global Covid-19 pandemic to hit the world this badly; Malaysia is obviously not spared with its GDP contracting by 5.6% in 2020.
The government has so far announced eight economic stimulus packages totalling RM530 billion from PRIHATIN in March 2020 to PEMULIH in June 2021 with direct fiscal injection amounting to RM83 billion.
“Up to June 2021, some RM200 billion of the RM530 billion have been utilised. This has partially contributed to Malaysia’s GDP growth of 7.1% for the first half of 2021. The key question many people have been asking is 'Is this enough?'.
“Well, there is still another RM330 billion of the stimulus packages left to be utilised and RM185 billion of the balance Budget 2021 to be spent in the second half of 2021. That should provide enough impetus for the economy to record a full-year 2021 growth of 4%, at the top end of BNM’s official forecast,” he said.
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