Rafizi answers critics ‘ignoring facts’ on economy

Malaysia’s economy is still growing despite claims on the contrary.

Taking to social media to answer his critics, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli cited the Statistics Department’s gross domestic product (GDP) advance estimate released earlier today.

“The good performance is expected to continue driving the strengthening of the ringgit’s value and the rising stock market, as well as drawing investments that create new jobs for the people.

“We are always exposed to the risk of being made stupid by social media claims that the nation’s economy is in decline, but these facts will distinguish between those who respect knowledge and those who turn away from it,” he said in a video posted on his social media accounts today.

The video is the second in as many days where the minister took on critics of Malaysia’s economy and his performance as the minister responsible for overseeing it.

Positive growth trend expected

Earlier, in releasing the GDP advance estimates for the second quarter of 2024, the Statistics Department said Malaysia’s GDP had grown by 5.8 percent in the period.

This meant the GDP is estimated to have grown by five percent during the first half of 2024 - compared to 4.1 percent during the same period last year - and the trend is expected to continue for the rest of the year.

Rafizi noted this aligns with the government’s target of four to five percent GDP growth this year.

This is in addition to the ringgit’s standing as the second-best performing Asian currency and the growth of Malaysia’s stock market value by more than 20 percent since last year.

“Although economic data shows economic growth in Malaysia, many do not want to accept these facts,” he said in the video, which also showed screenshots of social media posts about the economy.

Among others, the screenshots showed netizens complaining about the rising price of goods and the ringgit being weak compared to foreign currencies.

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