KUALA LUMPUR – Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli gave Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin (Larut-PN) a lecture on economic growth in the Dewan Rakyat today, claiming that the opposition leader lacks knowledge on the matter.
This is after the Perikatan Nasional secretary-general questioned the accuracy of figures provided by Rafizi.
“I am thankful because now the whole country and the world can see that the opposition leader doesn’t understand the concept of economic growth,” he said, drawing laughter from the House.
Earlier, Rafizi was explaining the decision behind the setting up of the National Economic Action Council, which he noted will assist the government in planning, implementing and monitoring the economy.
For this purpose, the minister said the council will act as the government’s principal economic adviser, with a focus on coordinating decisions across the various ministries and agencies to resolve structural economic issues.
Rafizi then went on to note that Malaysia had recorded a gross domestic product growth of 8.7% in 2022 compared to the previous year.
He said while the figure appears encouraging, the quarter-by-quarter growth recorded throughout last year has shown a steady decline – from 3.8% in the first quarter, to 3.5%, 1.9% and -2.4% respectively in the following quarters.
In his supplementary question, Hamzah said Rafizi might have been confused with the numbers he provided.
“When you mentioned an economic growth of 8.7% for 2022, how can it be possible that the figure dropped each quarter, because the average then, would be too low compared to 8.7%.
“I think there is an error. Never mind, you can correct it, because it is impossible to be like that,” Hamzah said.
At that moment, Rafizi took a dig at Hamzah by claiming the latter lacked understanding on the matter, before going on to school the Bersatu man.
“The 8.7% is the annual growth, which compares the size of our economy in 2022 to 2021. But we also have to look at how the economy grows from one quarter to another.
“The one I mentioned earlier is the growth rate from one quarter to another throughout 2022. This is important for us to understand whether the economy is improving or declining.
“These are the figures provided by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Statistics Department. It’s not me who needs to correct the data, but the opposition leader should go home and correct your understanding of economic growth.”
Rafizi also explained that the 8.7% GDP growth last year is largely attributed to the poor economic performance in 2021, when the country and the economy were under partial lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the membership of EAC, Rafizi said the appointments will be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim soon. – The Vibes, February 14, 2023
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