Najib: 5-6% growth possible for this year

(Bernama) – KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia can achieve an economic growth of between five and six per cent this year via systematic government planning, matured policies and effective implementation, says Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Najib, who is also Umno President, said the three vital factors have been proven and was instrumental in the country’s development todate.

“We have proven that we can bring progress to the nation. The achievement has been possible because Barisan Nasional (BN) is a party that has been tried and tested and has proven its capability in developing the nation.

“The achievements, thus far, are meaningful as we had undertaken thorough planning. In the third quarter, we attained 5.8 per cent (Gross Domestic Growth)  and (God willing) possibly five to six per cent (growth) for 2011,” the prime minister said when closing the BN Youth Job Fair Grand Finale 2011 here today.

Najib, who is also BN chairman, said the third quarter growth was evidence enough to counter the opposition.

“Some factions says the 5.8 per cent growth is impossible, the opposition says it is not true but we have proven in the third quarter that we have achieved 5.8 per cent growth,” he said.

The prime minister, who just returned from the Asean Summit in Bali, Indonesia, said Malaysia was lucky that it was still in the developing country category and was capable of creating jobs for its people.

This was better than in the United States, which was in the developed nation category, but could not provide employment while Greece and Italy were in the  list of countries experiencing an economic contraction and was facing lots of problems.

Najib also said the job fair not only offered employment opportunities for fresh graduates but also for those who wanted to switch jobs and a platform for those looking for financial options to start business.

The career carnival, which began in March, offered 85,000 jobs opportunities and 24,000 have been filled, to date.