PM: Malaysia's per capita income up 30% since 2010

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's per capita income has gone up since 2010, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"In 2010, the national per capita income was in the range of RM28,000. It has gone up by about 30 per cent to RM36,000 in 2015," said Najib.

Speaking at the launch of the 2015 Annual Progress Report of the GTP and ETP under the National Transformation Programme on Tuesday night, Najib said that for the 220th consecutive month since November 1997, Malaysia recorded a surplus of exports.

"The value of our exports exceeded the value of our imports. This proves that Malaysia can endure as a small open economy," said Najib.

Malaysia's GDP grew by 5.6 per cent yearly since 2010

Malaysia has recorded an average Gross Domestic Product growth of 5.6 per cent per year since 2010 due to careful economic planning said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"Even though global economic conditions have been challenging in recent years, this was acheived due to careful economic planning and ongoing oversight," said Najib.

Speaking at the launch of the 2015 Annual Progress Report of the GTP and ETP under the National Transformation Program, Najib added that Malaysia was among the ASEAN countries that recorded the best economic growth in 2015.

"From an economic aspect, the GDP is an important indicator of a nation's health. Therefore, with an average growth of 5.6 per cent since 2010, we can say that Malaysia's economy is healthy," said Najib.

He added that the government was able to reduce its fiscal deficit from 6.7 per cent in 2009 to 3.2 per cent in 2015.

"Our target of reaching 3.1 per cent this year will be achieved," said Najib.

He added that when a nation like Malaysia has good fiscal discipline, the cost of the nation's loans will be low.

"More importantly, market confidence will remain at a high level tied to Malaysia's credit position," said Najib.