KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economic growth for the second quarter of this 2022 outperformed many countries in the region, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“This disproves claims that this is a failed government,” The Barisan Nasional chairman told reporters at a press conference after the Wanita Barisan Nasional convention here on Sunday (Aug 15).

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He said Malaysia performed better than many of its regional peers.

“Monetary policy is the contributor to this success. We opened our economic sector and the borders,” said Ismail Sabri, who is also Prime Minister.

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He added that he had given his assurance to Malaysians that the government would never go back on the decision to keep the economic sector and international borders open, even if there is a resurgence in Covid-19 cases.

He said in the past, international borders had to be closed after it had been re-opened, adding that this had dented faith in the government.

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However, keeping borders open boosted investors’ confidence, which is evidenced by increasing foreign direct investment and domestic direct investment.

Malaysia’s economy expanded 8.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2022, which was significantly higher than the median expectation of 6.7% growth by a Reuters poll of economists.

The improved performance, compared to growth of 5% in the first quarter of the year, brought the first half of this year’s GDP growth to 6.9%.