KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Malaysia remains on a strong economic trajectory with all states recording positive growth rates in 2022 compared to 2021, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by state for the year 2022 report released today, the department said that positive growth was recorded despite global economic uncertainties, geopolitical conflicts and disruptions in food supply chains.
It also said the reopening of Malaysia’s international borders on April 1, 2022, had accelerated the recovery in all economic sectors, particularly the tourism-related industry.
“This performance culminated in an 8.7 per cent GDP growth in 2022, with a value-added amounting to RM1.5 trillion, surpassing the pre-pandemic value in 2019 of RM1.4 trillion.
“The services sector, which dominated the national economy, strengthened by 10.9 per cent from 2021, followed by the manufacturing sector, which rose by 8.1 per cent,” said DOSM.
During the same period, the agriculture sector recovered by 0.1 per cent, the mining and quarrying sector grew by 2.6 per cent and the construction sector rebounded to 5.0 per cent.
Four states which outperformed the national growth rate in 2022 were Penang (13.1 per cent), Selangor (11.9 per cent), Pahang (10.8 per cent) and Kuala Lumpur (9.2 per cent).
Penang’s growth was ignited by its key economic driver, the manufacturing sector, which accelerated by 15.9 per cent (2021: 12.4 per cent).
This was backed by the electrical, electronic and optical products sector following increased global demand for semiconductors.
Selangor, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur were driven by the services sector, which experienced rapid growth in the tourism-related subsector, including wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage and accommodation.
Selangor continued to uphold its position as the largest economy with the manufacturing sector strengthening by 9.0 per cent, supported by electrical, electronic and optical products (13.6 per cent) as well as transportation equipment, other manufacturing and repair (16.6 per cent).
DOSM also reported that Malacca’s GDP increased by 8.6 per cent, supported by the services and manufacturing sectors.
Meanwhile, the resumption of all economic activities and the thriving tourism-related industry further catalysed the recovery in Johor, which increased by 8.2 per cent, followed by Kedah (7.2 per cent), Negeri Sembilan (6.4 per cent), and Perak (4.3 per cent).
In the same period, Sabah’s economy rose by 3.7 per cent, upheld by the services sector, which expanded by 8.6 per cent, fueled by the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage and accommodation subsector, which recovered by 10.4 per cent (2021: -0.4 per cent).
The strengthening of Sarawak’s economy to 6.5 per cent was influenced by the 9.6 per cent growth in the services sector.
On the outlook, DOSM said the country’s economic health is projected to experience moderate growth, given the prevailing uncertainties in the global economic landscape.
“The leading index for April 2023 projected the economic performance to grow gradually in the coming months, attributable to a downturn in all index components.
“This is observed in the GDP of the first quarter of 2023, indicating slow growth of 5.6 per cent compared to 7.1 per cent in the previous quarter,” it said.
Despite facing an uncertain economic climate, the labour market, in contrast, continues to strengthen. The labour force participation rate in the first quarter of 2023 increased to 69.8 per cent, compared to 69.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Similarly, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, from 3.6 per cent in the previous quarter,” it said.
— Bernama
