The Malaysian economy grew 7.2 percent in 2010, outperforming the official expectation of 6 percent and reversing the contraction of 1.7 percent in 2009.
Bank Negara Malaysia, the country's central bank made the remarks in a statement in Kuala Lumpur on Friday when announcing the fourth quarter growth of the Malaysian economy.
According to the bank, the Malaysian economy registered a growth of 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, led by higher and public sector spending that resulted in the expansion in domestic demand.
The bank said that domestic demand had strengthened by 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, year-on-year, due mostly to the strong expansion in private consumption and capital spending.
"Private consumption increased by 6.5 percent supported by favorable labor market conditions, positive consumer confidence and higher income levels. Public consumption, on the other hand, declined by 0.3 percent, arising from lower expenditure on supplies and services," said the bank.
The bank said that on the supply side, all economic sectors, with the exception of the primary sectors, had continued to expand further in the fourth quarter./.