ISKANDAR PUTERI, Sept 10 — Johor‘s economy continues to show contraction, with the state expected to record its lowest gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the last ten years, said Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad.

He said the negative growth and decline was evident in almost all sectors of the state's economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic, except for the agricultural sector.

“Although the data for the second quarter has not been released, some important observations for Johor can be made based on the national economic performance.

“Johor’s GDP growth in the second quarter of this year is most likely to decline further than the 17.1 per cent contraction recorded nationally in the second quarter of 2020,” said Hasni.

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He said this while replying to a question from Raven Kumar (BN-Tenggaroh) at the Johor State Assembly in the Sultan Ismail Building, Kota Iskandar here

Hasni said the decline was because Johor's economy started the year in a less favorable situation after last year's GDP growth of only 2.7 per cent.

“It is the lowest growth in the last 10 years due to the slow momentum in the services, manufacturing and construction sectors," he said.

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Hasni, who is also the Benut assemblyman, said based on the latest trends, Johor’s GDP for this year is estimated to contract at a slower rate than the national level forecast, which is between 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent.

“Normally, Johor's GDP will contract more than the national rate due to the dependence of the state's economic dynamics on Singapore.

“The Johor services sector experienced a significant decline in wholesale and retail trade as well as the food and beverage and accommodation sub-sectors due to declining aggregate demand," he explained.

In addition to that, Hasni said the state’s unemployment rate was also impacted, estimating that a total of 173,000 or more workers lost their jobs.

He added that Singaporean economists predict 45,000 to 200,000 workers will be laid off in Singapore.

“If businesses in Singapore downsize their operations, thousands of Malaysians living in Johor and working in Singapore will most likely be laid off first," said Hasni.