Malaysia's economy can bounce back quickly if recovery plan is done right - Expert

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's economy will be able to bounce back quickly, whether at a rate of 4.5 per cent this year or 6.5 per cent later, but only if the country gets the recovery plan right, said crisis management analyst Nordin Abdullah.

He reckoned that the country's economic recovery will be fast when the economy fully reopens later.

"Malaysia is a massive exporter... Exports will grow once the global economy picks up.

"Now we see Europe's economy picking up, while China and other parts of Asia are also starting to pick up," he said on Bernama TV's Midday Update programme here today.

The 30-minute discussion, which highlighted the country's National Recovery Plan and the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, was hosted by Jessy Chahal.

The World Bank has revised down Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product growth for 2021 to 4.5 per cent from six per cent earlier amid a dramatic resurgence of COVID-19 infections beginning in mid-April 2021.

The global bank said the recent spike in infections has raised concerns about the overall capacity of Malaysia's health system while the impact of repeated lockdowns on households and companies is also a major worry.

According to the World Bank's Malaysia Economic Monitor report, "Weathering the Surge", released on Wednesday, the lower economic forecast reflected a slower pathway towards suppressing the pandemic and a slower-than-expected vaccine rollout.

Malaysia's immediate priority must focus on the efficient and sustained management of the ongoing pandemic and its effects on individuals, households and firms, the report said.

-- BERNAMA