KUALA LUMPUR: It is imperative for all quarters to cooperate and work together during the challenging period brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
In a special televised address today, Muhyiddin said without such a cooperation, it would be difficult for the government to achieve goals which were critical for the wellbeing of the people and Malaysia.
"Seikat lebih teguh dari sebatang, segemal lebih hasil daripada sebatang (loosely translated in Malay as a bundle is stronger than a stick, a fistful can produce more results than a stick)," Muhyiddin said in his speech today.
As a result from the various initiatives implemented by the government to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, Muhyiddin said the country had started seeing signs the nation's economy was gradually recovering.
He noted that the country's economy recorded a large contraction in its growth domestic product (GDP) during the second quarter of this year, which stood at negative 1.7 per cent due to the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
"Moving forward, several indicators have shown an improvement following the swift action taken by the government which included the rolling out of the Prihatin Rakyat economic stimulus package as well as the Penjana economic recovery plan.
"The Industrial Production Index recorded an increase over four consecutive months on a year-on-year basis from negative 32 per cent in April jumping to 1.2 per cent in July.
"Sales of passenger cars also recorded a 12.8 per cent year-on-year increase for July, which was supported by sales tax exemptions introduced under the Penjana economic recovery plan," he said.
Muhyiddin added the Leading Index, which predicted the movement of the overall economic direction over the next few months, grew at a faster pace of 4.5 per cent in June this year compared to 0.6 per cent the previous month, following the move by the government to reopen almost all economic sectors under strict compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOP).
"According to Bank Negara Malaysia, the country's economy is expected to record a growth of between negative 5.5 per cent and negative 3.5 per cent for this year.
"This means that the economy of the country is expected to recover and register growth during the second half of the year.
"Insyallah (God Willing), the country's economy is expected to grow between 5.5 per cent and eight per cent next year," he said.