Malaysia's economy showing resilient growth: Mohd Irwan

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia's economy has shown resilient growth in the first quarter of 2016 and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is confident that it will continue throughout the year.
MoF secretary general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah (pix) said the economy grew by 4.2%, well within the projected growth of 4% to 4.5% for 2016, in the first quarter and due to a strong domestic economy.
"We are quite proud of this growth as countries all over the world are facing stagnant economies due to low oil prices. Our export market has slowed down, but domestic consumption and investment is driving the local economy.
"Public and private consumption and investments are driving the domestic economy and our fundamentals are strong," Mohd Irwan told reporters after officiating the Treasury Sports Fest.
He said the government is also taking steps to address the slower export market by diversifying to countries like India and the Middle East as China, Malaysia's biggest export market, has a slowing economy.
Mohd Irwan said the tourism industry also has huge growth potential and the government is making Malaysia an attractive tourist destination by speeding up the visa process and having more tourism promotions.
Meanwhile, he said factors such as Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) and the impending increase in civil servants' wages in July will also increase local consumption and sustain the economy.
"There will be more public and private sector consumption, and when there is more consumption, there will be more investments. We are confident that the growth is sustainable," Mohd Irwan said.
The Treasury Sports Fest is a sports competition organised by the MOF to have its employees from all agencies under the Ministry compete with each other and showcase their sporting talents.
Mohd Irwan said the response from ministry staff has been encouraging and urged all participants to practice sportsmanship and not let losses affect their working relationship.
"I hope all teams can compete with sportsmanship in mind and not be sore losers, we are all family in MoF," he said in his speech.