Malaysian manufacturing sales rose 6.4 percent in November from a year earlier to RM26.40 billion but dropped 3.3 percent from October, official data showed today.

The Statistics Department said the manufacturing sector employed 977,406 people in November, down 0.7 percent year-on-year and down 0.6 percent from October.

The sector paid RM1.52 billion in salaries and wages in November, up 3.4 percent year-on-year, and 0.7 percent higher than October, it said in a statement.

For the first 11 months of the year, manufacturing sales totalled RM282.10 billion, down 1.3 percent year-on-year, with a total of RM16.40 billion paid in salaries and wages, it added.

Pump priming

Manufacturing is the growth engine for the Malaysian economy, which was officially forecast to have grown between four and five percent last year.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, also finance minister, has said growth this year is expected to be similar to the 2002 estimate, compared with an official forecast of 6.0-6.5 percent.

He said earlier this month the government may opt for another round of pump-priming to boost the economy amid weak global sentiment. AFP