Contribution to GDP not the best measure of Selangor's economic performance, says rep

Gombak Setia assemblyman Muhammad Hilman Idham today questioned the Selangor menteri besar's reference to the percentage of the state's contribution to the country's GDP, saying this does not provide an accurate picture of Selangor's economy. 

Hilman said a better way to assess a state's economy would be to refer to the value of its contribution to GDP from the aspect of growth as well as the efficiency of development expenditure management. 

Amirudin Shari had challenged International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, who said Selangor's performance had declined after he relinquished the position of menteri besar in 2018. 

In a Twitter post, Amirudin had also referred to a graph showing that Selangor's contribution to the GDP had increased to 24.8% in 2021. 

But Hilman said that while the percentage of contribution could be high, its value would not necessarily increase as the percentage depends on the value of the country's GDP. 

He said after Azmin took the helm in Selangor, the value of the state's contribution to GDP had in fact increased. 

"In 2015, Selangor contributed RM268.83 billion to GDP while in 2016, the value of its contribution increased to RM281.84 billion," he said.

"In 2016, the value of the contribution increased to RM281.84 billion and continued to rise to RM302.19 billion in 2017 and RM323.22 billion in 2018."

He said the Amirudin administration meanwhile recorded a decrease from RM345.15 billion in 2019 to RM327.09 billion in 2020 before increasing again to RM343.5 billion in 2021.

He said this showed that Selangor's growth had been slipping since 2018, even though this was before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

"Selangor's economic growth stood at a rate of 7% in 2018. It declined to 6.8% in 2018 and continued to shrink due to the pandemic in 2020 at a rate of -5.2 and 5% in 2021," he added.

Hilman also sought to highlight differences in the way the two leaders had managed state development expenses. 

He said Azmin's administration had recorded a development expenditure record of more than 90% of the projected amount each year while Amirudin's administration had remained between 70% and 80%. 

He said Amirudin, on the other hand, had not spent efficiently and had never announced any major infrastructure development projects. 

In terms of budget presentation, meanwhile, Hilman said Azmin's approach was seen as progressive and responsive to the environment and dynamics in the economic landscape. 

In 2015, he said, Azmin's administration presented a budget for RM2.42 billion which rose to RM2.88 billion for 2016, RM3.45 billion for 2017, and RM3.12 billion for 2018.

Amirudin meanwhile presented budgets of RM2.56 billion for 2019, RM2.33 billion for 2020, RM2.32 billion for 2021 and RM2.34 billion for 2022.

"Azmin's administration dared to present a deficit budget with more development expenditure than management expenditure.

"This deficit budget eventually turned into a surplus budget as a result of his ability, transparency and effective administration," he added.