KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — In his maiden Chinese New Year address today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob expressed hope for prosperity, as his administration works towards stabilising the nation’s economy, which was battered following a two-year battle with Covid-19.

In his speech, Ismail Sabri also hoped that the celebration this time around would be a meaningful one to strengthen family bonds, after many were forced to be apart owing to travel bans.

"The Malaysian economy is on the right track towards recovery, based on the reopening of more than 90 per cent of economic sectors, and most social activities,” he said.

"The recovery was supported by high vaccination rates with almost the entire population having been vaccinated. With the momentum of recovery, the gross domestic product is on a strong track to continue to grow between 5.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent in 2022.”

The text of his address was made available to the media.

Ismail Sabri added that the economic growth is in line with the projection by the International Monetary Fund of 6.0 per cent and the World Bank at 5.8 per cent.

He said that the growth will be driven mainly by the expanding Budget 2022 worth RM332.1 billion and the normalisation of economic and social activities.

"The resumption of projects with high multiplier effects and strong external demand, especially from major trading partners, also boosted the economic growth.

"All this is in line with the government’s aim in the 12th Malaysia Plan, to achieve a high-income nation status by 2025, through various initiatives outlined,” he added.

He also cautioned the masses to always abide by the standard operating procedures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Malaysia’s new Covid-19 cases have been hovering up and down the 5,000-case mark in the last week.

The country is currently rolling out booster Covid-19 vaccine shots, with children between five and 12 slated to get their first vaccine shots starting February.