Malaysia to reach 5.4% GDP growth in 2011: official

Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) can achieve a 5.4 percent growth in 2011, a Malaysian official said in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop in charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) made this remark after attending the EPU's briefing session on the 10th Malaysia Plan.

Nor said he had confidence in the country in achieving the GDP growth rate in 2011, given the positive forecast for 2010.

The Malaysian government earlier estimated that the country's GDP would shrink by three percent in 2009 and grow by two to three percent in 2010.

Nor said the 5.4 percent growth could be achieved in the first year of the implementation of the 10th Malaysia Plan, a five-year plan rolled out to develop various sectors in the country.

He said that the plan was the yardstick to determine Malaysia's success or failure in becoming a developed nation with high per capita income by 2020.

Stressing the importance of the plan, Nor said it would be tabled in Parliament on June 10, 2010, six months earlier than scheduled.

Source:Xinhua