MALAYSIA CAN STILL MEET THIS YEAR'S GDP TARGET, SAYS PM NAJIB

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak is confident
that Malaysia will be able to meet its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth
target of between 5.5 and 6.0 per cent this year based on a domestic demand
which has still remained high although the global economy could be affected by
the downgrading of the United States' credit rating.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said that the 2012 Budget would take
into account the external economic circumstances.

However, in order for Malaysia to meet its target, there would have to be
serious efforts from all parties including the public sector where they would
have to carry out whatever that had been promised in terms of investments, he
said.

"We hope that the crises in the United States and Europe would be overcome
so that the world economy does not fall or see a slow down as this would affect
the Malaysian economy especially in the manufacturing sector."

Many investors in Malaysia have markets in the US and Europe, and if these
markets are disturbed, it would affect the local economic growth, he said.

For the first quarter this year, Malaysia's GDP grew 4.6 per cent.

Standard & Poor Rating Services recently downgraded its long-term sovereign
credit rating on the US to AA+ from AAA with a negative outlook.

The research firm said the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory
debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate had indicated that further
near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially
on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues was less likely
than it had been previously assumed.