Abdullah disappointed over 0.1% growth but is not surprised

By MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR,  The Star Online 

HUA HIN (Thailand): Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hopes Malaysia’s gross domestic product for the first quarter of this year will still show positive growth. 

Although the Prime Minister was disappointed with the 0.1% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of last year, Abdullah said he was not surprised. 

“I know this is not due to the lack of effort on our part but due to pressures of the global economic crisis. We still registered very small growth and it does show that our effort to help the economy by providing the stimulus package given is slowly showing some good support. 

“Otherwise, we would have suffered more because other countries are doing worse than us,” he told a press conference here on the sidelines of the Asean summit yesterday. 

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced yesterday that for the fourth quarter of last year, Malaysia’s GDP grew only 0.1% — the lowest growth since the third quarter of 2001 when growth was -0.4%.

 Diplomacy in blue: Abhisit and wife Pimpen greeting Abdullah and Jeanne when they arrived for the gala dinner in Cha-am yesterday. — Reuters

Abdullah also said the RM7bil stimulus package announced in November had not really shown the results yet as it would take time. 

He said it was not impossible to register growth as it depended on how big the mini budget to be revealed on March 10 would be. 

“It will also depend on how efficient and effective the spending will be not only by the Government but that of the private sector as well. 

“With the stimulus package to be announced in March, we have nine months and I hope the achievement will be better than what was shown in 2008,” Abdullah added. 

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