I am someone who thinks the Malaysian economy is diversified enough. Gone were the days when petroleum were holding us by the neck. Now, the effect is much smaller. As for the GDP growth for 2019, the number was lower than my own estimation. I think the Home Ownership Campaign could have been successful in hitting its target but this does not mean the economy is growing in all other sectors.
Article in malaymail.com According to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), our economy grew 3.6% in Q4 2019 and this has caused the full year growth to be dragged down to 4.3%. This is the lowest since 2009 and sits within the lowest end of BNM’s own GDP growth prediction of 4.3 – 4.8%. It said that there were supply disruptions in the commodity sector and this was a major cause of the lower number. In 2018, the GDP growth was 4.7%.
The Covid-19 (coronavirus’s official name) will affect Malaysia’s Q1 2020 number according to BNM governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus. Major driver for 2019’s performance was a higher private sector spending. Private consumption grew strongly by 8.1 per cent (3Q 2019: 7 per cent), while private investment registered a higher growth of 4.2 per cent (3Q 2019: 0.3 per cent). Please do refer to the full report in the Article in malaymail.com
Actually, the good news that I am referring to is the private consumption. Let’s be objective here. Without a job, could people spend more? If it’s very true that everyone is struggling to make ends meet, then who are these people who are spending more. Please admit that the economy is not good but it’s definitely not as bad as what everyone is claiming everytime there’s a meeting among friends.
By the way, at least 3 of my friends are driving a new car bought last year. All are non-national cars. Another attractive lady is now considering a new Mercedes Benz even though I already tell her that Volvo is a great option too. Haha. So we could already see that Q1 2020 is gone because of Covid-19. Let’s hope that things stop getting worse after end February 2020. Thus, I think the money which people intended to spend in Q1 of 2020, they could still spend it on Q2 or Q3 of 2020. Please take care of the hygiene and please get yourself checked if you are not feeling well. This is NOT the time to take a panadol and just sleep a few hours…
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