Govt told to be 'honest' amid concerns economic damage downplayed

The Finance Ministry has been urged to be upfront about the state of the economy amid concerns that it was downplaying the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country.

Johor Bahru MP Akmal Nasir said this after Bank Negara Malaysia and the Department of Statistics on Feb 11 announced that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2020 contracted by 5.6 percent.

This was higher than the government's projection contraction of 4.5 percent under Budget 2021...