Kuala Lampur, Feb. 19 -- The Fourth Quarter GDP growth figures for Malaysia which were released on the 16th of February 2024 showed a slower than expected growth rate of 3.0 per cent which resulted in the Malaysian economy growing at 3.7 per cent for 2023, lower than the initially projected 4 per cent.

While economists and policy makers will debate and discuss various reasons for why this is the case - lower external demand resulting in a drop in exports and a fall in manufacturing, for example - for the person on the street, they would not be able to feel or tell the difference between a 3.7 per cent and a 4.0 per cent GDP growth rate.

The government needs to understand that debating and discussing the nuances of statistics, while impo...