Malaysia’s unemployment rate 2.80% vs. 3.10% forecast

According to Investing.com:

The unemployment rate in Malaysia fell unexpectedly last month, official data showed on Monday.

In a report, Department of Statistics Malaysia said that Malaysian Unemployment Rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 2.80%, from 2.90% in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected Malaysian Unemployment Rate to rise to 3.10% last month.

Source: Investing.com

Malaysia – Growing in Love, Harmony and Prosperity

Some leaders boast about their achievements by glorifying themselves or amplifying their achievements. Some remain modest and unaffected by their greatness because their focus is on their mission which tunes their vision to others, seldom ever upon themselves. Our Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib, is in the second category. Undaunted by critics both near and far, he remains unfazed by negative remarks and brickbats hurled by friends and foes alike.

At play are forces out to discredit the Prime Minister in any and every way as seen in MSM and online portals. Brainwashed, many are apathetic about unraveling truth independently, preferring to demonize our PM and the government at every opportunity. Whilst it is a democratic right to enjoy freedom of expression, this right must not be abused for any selfish.

Today, Prime Minister Najib Razak offered tax incentives to companies that establish nurseries and allow flexible work arrangements to encourage more women to resume their careers. This will support PM Najib’s efforts to spur economic growth and become a high-income nation by 2020 since about 66% of women leave the workforce because of family responsibilities. Productivity and GDP will increase when more women return to the workforce.

Two days ago, our PM announced that the government is prepared to consider the participation of the FELDA Vision Generation Alliance (GWGF) in the FELDA Investment Cooperative 2 (KPF 2) to bring greater progress to the FELDA settlers. KPF 2, a cooperative especially for the new generation of FELDA settlers, was approved in 2011 and will be an economic development model for the new generation, complementary to the FELDA Investment Cooperative. How many showered accolades on the PM for this development?

A few days earlier, our PM also announced that the country's economic management is at the best level considering that the economic growth in the second quarter far exceeded expectations. Malaysia's economy grew 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year and 6.4 per cent in the second quarter. In addition, did our rakyat rejoice or did they jump on the bandwagon to slam the PM when others started a new onslaught on him?

Five days ago, Bank Negara issued growth unexpectedly accelerated to the fastest pace in six quarters on surging exports, adding scope for the central bank to raise interest rates further. The ringgit rose to a nine-month high. In fact, Malaysia was the first nation in South-East Asia to raise its benchmark rate in 2014 because records show how investment, private consumption, and overseas orders for the nation’s goods have sustained growth. The truth is this – Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy is now outperforming its regional counterparts while neighboring nations such as Indonesia and Singapore slowed down in the last quarter.

Last week, Bloomberg headlined how “Malaysia Booms as Najib Beats Growth Goal With Investment” and highlighted how “per capita gross national income rose to $10,060 last year, crossing the $10,000 threshold for the first time”.  Frederico Gil Sander, World Bank senior country economist for Malaysia stated the country is heading in the right direction.

Another milestone achieved by PM Najib’s capable team is Malaysia’s progress to No. 6 in the organization’s “Doing Business 2014” report on business-friendly nations, which is SIX steps up from No. 12 in 2013 and NINETEEN STEPS up from No. 25 in 2007. The index, measuring 189 countries, covers everything from starting a company to dealing with permits.

According to Zainal Amanshah, CEO of InvestKL, a government agency created to lure global companies, Malaysia’s progress is helping investors overcome perceptions that it is difficult to find talent here. For the record, InvestKL has induced 38 multinational firms to set up regional headquarters around Kuala Lumpur - a very impressive record considering his goal is to 100 companies by 2020.

On August 15 ’14, Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz anticipates GDP expansion this year will probably exceed the central bank’s forecast range of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent. She also announced the government would announce a new growth forecast during its budget, she said.  Barclays Plc and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.’s analysts raised their 2014 growth estimates for Malaysia after today’s data.

Before anyone starts hurling negative remarks to decry all these achievements, please consider regional development trends. Indonesia’s growth eased to the slowest since 2009 last quarter, while Singapore’s expansion was the least in more than a year. Thailand may say its economy swung to an expansion of 0.1 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, according to the median of 15 estimates before the data is released Aug. 18. So, remove your blinkers and celebrate! Our country IS progressing under the capable leadership of Dato’ Seri Najib!

When we talk of leadership and development of a nation, we look at economic data and trends in important variables. Whether or not PM Najib learnt from previous elections or whether he abolished the right laws, made appropriate rulings etc are largely of subjective value, which differ from one person to another depending on their class, education, income and other factors. However, when SO MANY categories of statistics tell the same story about how Malaysia, under the able leadership of our PM is growing in the right direction, let us stop, take a deep breath, put on our thinking caps and untainted lenses to look at our PM and this country again to be fair in our judgement.

We will soon be celebrating Malaysia’s 57th anniversary of our Independence. As we step into our 58th year of existence, let us live in tandem with this year’s theme – ‘Malaysia – Where Love Grows’. May our country continue to grow in every area and our citizens grow in love, harmony and prosperity together.


The Malaysian Insider and The Malay Mail also carried this post. Thanks to the editors.

The Swearing-in Ceremony of Ministers and Deputies before Yang di Pertuan Agong

At Istana Negara today, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai led in the swearing-in ceremony of ministers and deputy ministers. The new cabinet members took the oath of office and allegiance before Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.



The ministers who were sworn in today include Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Datuk Mah Siew Keong and Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The deputy ministers who were sworn in were Datuk Lee Chee Leong, Datuk Chua Tee Yong and Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Barisan Nasional leaders.

Lee was appointed as Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Chua as Deputy Minister of Finance and Chew as Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.




Lee, 56, was Perak Health and Environment Committee chairman (1995-1999), Deputy Foreign Minister (2009-2010) and Deputy Home Minister (2010-2013).
Chua,37, who is the son of former MCA president Tan Sri Dr Chua Soi Lek was the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry (2010-2013).
Chew, 50, was Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development from 2009 to 2010.

Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong is now Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Previously, Wee, 46, was Deputy Minister of Education from 2008 to 2013.

Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who is also the MCA president, is now the Minister of Transport.

 Datuk Seri Liow, 53, first joined the Cabinet as Minister of Health until the general election last year. Previously, he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in February 2006.

All of them signed the oath of secrecy before the President of the Appeals Court, Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif and witnessed by Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa.

The Prime Minister enjoying a light moment with the Agung.

Datuk Mah Siew Keong, 53, is now minister in the Prime Minister's Department following his success in the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election last month. Previously, he was the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry in 2004 and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry in 2006 and 2008.

Citizen Times wishes all the new Cabinet members success in their undertakings.

Malaysia's Economy Heading Into Safe Zone

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's economy is doing quite well as the current debt service ratio continues to be moderate and sustainable at 10.7 per cent and it is also heading into a safe zone, Minister in the PrimeMinister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala said.

He was responding to William Pesek's June 5 article titled 'Is Malaysia Asia's Weakest Link' in Bloomberg View, an editorial division of Bloomberg, in which the columnist wondered whether Malaysia's economy will crumble after Oxford Economics ranked Malaysia as the riskiest country in Asia in a survey.

"Over the last four years, with our public debt as a percentage of the GDP maintained below the legislated debt ceiling of 55 per cent and having met with fiscal deficit reduction targets, in 2013 Malaysia took its first step into the Safe Zone," he said.

The minister pointed out that the Boston Consulting Group has developed a matrix to determine a fiscal 'Safe Zone' for countries, with one axis featuring public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) and another featuring fiscal surplus or deficit as a percentage of GDP.

The safe zone is achieved if as a percentage of GDP, public debt is below 75 per cent and deficit is at four per cent or below, with the danger zone characterised by public debt equalling or exceeding the GDP and deficit of eight per cent and above.

Many other countries have much higher debt profiles as a percentage of GDP such as Singapore (115.1 per cent), Japan (195.8 per cent), the UK (102.6 per cent) and the United States (93.8 per cent), Idris said, pointing out that what is more important is whether countries are able to service their loans.

Idris said Malaysia is well on track to meet the 3.5 per cent target this year after surpassing the 4.0 per cent target to achieve a 3.9 per cent deficit in 2013.

"In the last four years we have systematically reduced our deficit -- in 2010 by 5.6 per cent, followed by 4.8 per cent in 2001 and 4.5 per cent in 2012," he said.

Malaysia's fiscal deficit was at 6.6 per cent in 2009 and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is determined for the country to be budget neutral by 2020.

Idris said the government will broaden its tax base and diversify revenue streams by announcing the planned implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) at six per cent from April 2015.
"Just imagine the positive impact the GST will have on the fiscal positioneventually, when we increase the rates to the international benchmark.

“Moving on, at RM40 billion a year, Malaysia's subsidy bill is simply untenable," Idris said.

The government has rationalised subsidies on fuel and sugar as well as put in place the reforms necessary for a targeted subsidy system to benefit the deserving via social safety nets, he noted.

"More must be done certainly. We are not shying away from the difficult policy decisions, we are pushing ahead full steam.

"We have also gradually reduced dependence on oil and gas revenue from 35.8 per cent in 2011 to 33.7 per cent in 2012. In 2013, we expect a further reduction to 30.6 per cent," he said.

Idris said approved pipeline investment has been increasing year-on-year since 2010, surpassing the government's annual investment target of RM148 billion under the 10th Malaysia Plan.

In 2011, approved investment stood at RM154.6 billion; in 2012, RM167.8 billion; and in 2013, RM216.5 billion.

He said offshore borrowing stands at RM324 billion making up 32.9 per cent of GDP with only 46.7 per cent of external debt stock in Malaysia coming from offshore borrowings.

"Of this amount, almost all were borrowed by profit-driven and revenue maximising institutions including private sector and public enterprises and only five per cent is attributed to the Federal Government," he said.
On the Federal Government's borrowings, Idris said the external debt is at RM158.4 billion of which only RM16.8 billion are in foreign currencies.

"This simply means that we are less susceptible to fluctuations in the global economy," he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has climbed steadily from 23rd in 2010 and 18th in 2012 to 6th in 2014, and has been in the top 10 in the world for the last two years under the World Bank's Doing Business survey.

The country climbed three notches from last year to capture 12th spot in the recent IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014, and placed 15th compared to 25th in 2013 under AT Kearney's FDI Confidence Index 2014.

"So, if we are being told that our economy is in trouble, the writer and Oxford Economics should, at the very least, present a more factually compelling story," Idris said.-- Bernama

Why is Malaysia so Polarised today?

In the good old days, citizens only had The Straits Echo, New Straits Times and later on, The Star, to feed them with the latest news. The advent of information technology and rise of Internet popularity has seen the proliferation of online news portals - independent and the not-so-independent ones. Since then, news readership of mainstream media has been steadily on the decline and the print media is being sustained mainly by advertising revenue. Beyond all those superficial issues, the fact remains that the rise of the new media has paved the way for more partisan media in Malaysia and triggered an insidious process of political polarisation of Malaysia.

Today, news audience seems to be divided into three segments - the Pro-BN, the Pro-PR and of course, the fence-sitters. Without prejudice, many seem to buy the tales of their preferred media - lock, stock and barrel without questioning the authenticity of the report, the implication of bias headlines, morals, objectivity and even the unhealthy slants of fanatically populist and anti-establishment, anti-corruption rhetoric, anti-PM articles that those independent news portals carried by TMI, FZ, The Ant Daily, MK, Malaysia Chronicle and other sites. Consequently, more are blindly pro-Opposition and narrowmindedly anti-BN with a one-track mind!

Hitler once said: "A lie told often enough becomes the truth."

That is exactly what is happening in Malaysia.  the last ten years or so, irresponsible sites have been filling the Internet with lies, distortions of truth, fabrications of concocted reality and all kinds of warped messages.

A very good example is the Altantuya case. 

At the end of this post is a list of headlines from various news portals. Even without reading the whole report, citizens are being BRAINWASHED to hate the government!

Why?

What is the real agenda of those media sites? Why are they persistently seducing their audience with populist views?

Why are some sites so pro-Anwar and anti-Najib?

For that, we need to examine the content, background and ownership of those sites.

News content that is stems from simple and clear ideological slant e.g. Anti-BN headlines would naturally attract viewers who are ALREADY dissatisfied with the state of affairs. Hence, readers would perceive such websites to be more credible as the owners/writers seem to share their political attitudes.

By reading such distorted articles, these readers are unconsciously reinforcing their stereotypes of the status quo and thus political polarisation multiplies at a very dangerously worrying rate. Things can come to a head when the political ambiance in the country is heated and then fringes may be on the rise.

In reality, citizens have a few choices. They can treat these as the gospel truth or ignore them or accept it and think nothing about those deceptive messages. There is one thing which FEW would ever do.

That is to TEST and to VERIFY the information.

I am not saying we have a perfect government (none exists in this world by the way). We have an imperfect government that is trying to perfect its imperfections in sincere programmes such as GTP, BR1M etc. Along the way, we have little devils in irresponsible news portals spreading doubts, magnifying weaknesses, glorifying the Opposition.

I do not deny the presence of a strong Opposition is important BUT it has to be a wholesome, effective and upright Opposition and that is absent in Malaysia.

There is much irony in news reporting.

1. When the status quo tells the truth e.g. in AG's reports, they are blasted to kingdom come for this and that. Fine - all in the name of efficiency.

However...

2. If the Opposition does something wrong and then the status quo gives them a dose of their own medicine via public criticism, all hell breaks lose and the citizens turn a blind eye to the weaknesses or failings of the Opposition and go into full throttle to blast BN.

Fair?

3. The worst scenario is this. The whole question of selective exposure is a pivotal factor in polarizing Malaysia. Those who are politically conscious carry with them biases and beliefs that those online sites are believable and trustworthy and deliberately read only THOSE news which can strongly influence their attitudes, speech and voting behaviour. These citizens, armed with their 'perceived' inference of what is right and wrong, go on to become opinion leaders in kopi tiams and INFLUENCE others to share their beliefs. Such a multiplier effect in wider society and at the grassroot level can be very potent in swinging voters to become pro-Opposition.

Now here's the catch.

Some argue and say - if that is the case, why can't the government close down those sites?

Helloooooooooo!

If the ruling government would do that in the name of curbing hostility etc... those 'biased' pro-Opposition citizens would say - there you go - we have a government that does NOT practise freedom of speech or press freedom.

It is a Catch 22 for our government, whom I believe is sincerely trying its best to maintain a healthy balance of freedom in a non-hostile and non-confrontational way. 

If they pull up editors for misdeeds, people would protest and this would trigger another wave of anti-BN sentiments. 

If the government does nothing and allows freedom of speech, the pro-Opposition fellas will say - see our leaders are useless!

Either way, to the pro-PR supporters, BN is always wrong, PR is always right! Sheesssshhh!

The bottom line is this.

Many sites have been spinning their yarn of lies, of deception and myths to the extent that these have become 'truths' in the minds of the audience. You see, the culture of ignorance has made many quite clueless about integrity and journalistic principles.

They do not know what is right or wrong. They only know BN is wrong. Remove BN. All will be right after that WHEN (or so they dreamlah) Pakatan Rakyat takes over.

What a lame and blind displacement of hope!

Their folly is this - their ridiculous belief that whatever BN does is wrong.

To them, whatever PR does is RIGHT. Even if it is wrong, it is ok for their wrong is not as unforgivable as BN's mistakes.

Now you see - our society has really become not only ignorant but so polarized that many have lost their sense of judgement.

They can only see our Prime Minister as the villain and Anwar as the hero.

Anwar - the one who gallivants to foreign countries to shame and blame this nation for anything, anywhere, anyhow he chooses.

Or maybe some look to Lim Kit Siang and his obedient son Lim Guan Eng who has led Penang to four or five consecutive budget deficits, land reclamation issues and botak hills.

In spite of all this...

Despite water cuts and what-have-you's....in the eyes of pro-Opposition citizens....they will say - it is OKlah...they are not as bad as BN.

You see...it is not BN that is taking our citizens on the road to destruction.

It is PR and their insidious media who are marking the routes, paving the different roads to destruction and hurrah for them...many citizens are happily traipsing and spreading their new found 'Pro-PR euphoria'.

Do you see how pervasive is the effect of biased reporting from those websites? They have a malevolent agenda. One to divide, not unite. One to polarise, not to spread harmony.

Maybe now you can understand why this country is so polarised.

Maybe now you can appreciate the uphill task of our government to develop this country for the common good.

Be deceived no more!

_______________________________________

A sample of MALAYSIAKINI headlines and articles:

1. Ministry bleeds RM78mil in bio-tech gamble (Malaysiakini)

2. A case of the PM reaping what he sows

3. How much will Najib spend to keep Terengganu? (#2 and # 3 Malaysiakini compiled readers' comments and transformed them into a main post with a mischievous heading. The PM has sued them over these two articles)

4. Cabinet reshuffle another game of musical chairs

A sample of headlines and articles from The Malaysian Insider:

1. Is anyone running Malaysia? (Commentary by Malaysian Insider)

2. When Putrajaya’s words mean naught to Malaysians (Commentary by Malaysian Insider)

3. Gays, lesbians might get no protection under Harmony Bill 

4. Doing nothing about human trafficking is a disgrace - It is shocking that this article is written by someone attached to a local university who should know better than to have used 'NOTHING' in the title. How sure is she that the government has done nothing? The Editor should have known better than to have featured such an article but then again, TMI loves to disgrace the government. That seems to be their preoccupation of late!

Malaysian Chronicle - The website that reposts news from other sites and then SENSATIONALISES the news item by putting in their own headline just to attract other readers who come in thinking it is a different article from the original source but darn - they are deceived! Their forte is to blast 

PM, his wife, the government and to glorify the Opposition!

1. After Allah ruling, Najib preens his Islamic credentials: BE LIKE IRAQI MILITANTS, he tells Umno (original article from TMI)

2. Rosmah’s denial she EMPTIES the pool each time she swims goes viral (original article from Harakah Daily)

3. Crushed by corruption, injustice & rising extremism, M'sia faces an unsure & uncertain future

4. WASTE OF TIME HYPOCRISY! Umno’s governance proves Malay rule can be fair, Najib says (original article from The Malay Mail)

Malaysia ranked 56th in UN’s World Happiness Index

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia was ranked 56th out of 156 countries in the United Nations’s World Happiness Index last year.

Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said happiness of people in a country was dependent on urban well-being and the sustainability of a city as more than 70 per cent of Malaysians are urbanites.

“Our urban sustainability is at 75 per cent. This is considered average.

“The ministry’s Town and Country Planning department is monitoring the country’s urban sustainability and working towards improving Malaysia’s position in the World Happiness Index,” he said after the launch of Centre of Excellence for Urban Well-being and Happiness, here yesterday.

The Centre of Excellence (CoE), he said, was a think-tank that aimed to give urban solutions to town-planning issues which was becoming more dynamic and complex.

The think-tank would play a role in research, education and promotion of aspects related to urban well-being and sustainable communities.

Abdul Rahman said CoE would also conduct programmes, forums, and create an interactive website to encourage participation of the public and non-governmental organisations.

“The ideas and opinions of the grassroots gathered through CoE would be taken into account when the ministry drafts its policies and conduct programmes related to the country’s development.”

He added that there was a widening gap between the people and the government, thus initiatives like this would help bridge the gap.

“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had also voiced out his concern on the emotional disconnect between the urbanites and the government. We are doing all we can to bridge this gap.”

Among others, he said, was the formation of Residents Representative Committee that would enable residents to deal directly with representatives from government agencies and voice out their ideas and grouses.

NST

Malaysia’s ranking improves in World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22:
Malaysia’s ranking improved three notches to 12th, among 60 countries, in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014, its best performance in four years, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

The jump is a testimony of growing confidence in the government’s various initiatives to transform the economy into that of a high-income nation by 2020.

Last year, Malaysia was ranked 15th by the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development.
Mustapa said the report reflected measures Malaysia had undertaken under the Government Transformation and Economic Transformation Programmes.

“We will continue to strengthen our global competitiveness through efforts targeted at enhancing Malaysia’s investment environment and promoting policies that would increase trade, harness talents to achieve higher productivity growth, intensify efforts to reduce regulatory burden, as well as, strengthen the country’s technological capabilities.

“We are also committed in implementing and executing a sustainable economic policy in ensuring a more prosperous and developed Malaysia as opposed to short-term, populist shortcuts that will have negative consequences in the long-run,” he said in a statement today.

Mustapa said, with all these efforts, Malaysia could see a much better performance in the next three to five years as all its initiatives begin to bear fruit.

The 12th spot or 82.09 score (out of 100) has put Malaysia among the top 15 most competitive nation that included the United States, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, Germany and Canada.

It also continued to be ahead of United Kingdom which was ranked 16th, Australia (17th), Finland (18th), New Zealand (20th), Japan (21st) and Korea (26th).

The World Competitiveness Yearbook assessed countries based on economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

On government efficiency, Mustapa said although Malaysia maintained its 15th position, the government was committed to further strengthening the country’s public finances, ensure fiscal sustainability and promote the country’s long-term macroeconomic stability.

“The setting up of the Fiscal Policy Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, reflects Malaysia’s commitment to achieve a fiscal deficit of 3% of Gross Domestic Product by 2015 and work towards a balanced budget by 2020.

“Among the initiatives undertaken by the government is the implementation of phased rationalisation of subsidies and ensure a more targeted approach in providing financial assistance to those in need.

“We also believe that the improvements in rankings are directly linked to the upward trend of Malaysia’s global rankings in the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 to 24th position and World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report 2014 where Malaysia is ranked number six worldwide,” Mustapa added.

The Rakyat Post

Malaysia's Economy Turns The Corner

What a month it’s been for Malaysia’s economy. Fourth quarter GDP growth was stronger than expected (4th quarter GDP - 5.1%, and GDP for 2013 - 4.7%).  Foreign Direct Investment for 2013 is the highest on record.  The budget deficit has been reduced to 3.9%, exceeding the government`s target of 4%. Strong growth, low unemployment, poverty reduction, and manageable inflation has international markets, ratings agencies and commentators from near and far praising Malaysia’s government’s economic competence.

Prime Minister Najib Razak’s economic reforms – such as reducing subsidies on fuel and sugar, along with the planned introduction of a GST next year – while unpopular in some quarters, nevertheless appear to be working.

This is just as well. If Malaysia had continued down the path we were on last year, spending too much money on general subsidies and with inadequate long-term tax revenues, the country could have been headed for default, credit-rating downgrades or a run on the ringgit - or perhaps all three.

This would have had a devastating impact on the rakyat: unemployment would have increased as investors pulled money out of Malaysia, the government might have been forced into drastic cost-cutting measures, and the country might have had to pay more interest on its loans. All of this would have hurt the bank balance of each and every Malaysian.

Before Budget 2014, international markets, ratings agencies, and commentators were warning that Malaysia could be headed for economic trouble.  Since 1997 Malaysia has been running fiscal deficits, which has meant that the government has had to borrow money in order to pay its bills.  But since Prime Minister Najib took the initiative and introduced subsidy reform, the long term prospects for the Malaysia economy look bright. 

For example, this month CIMB Group Holdings said, “The timely implementation of fiscal and structural reforms will boost investors’ confidence and enhance private-sector investment… we believe the government is on track to meet its fiscal-deficit targets”.  Barclays Capital said, “Malaysia’s underlying industrial performance is improving, in line with exports… we expect growth to remain resilient.”  Nomura, meanwhile, is positive on the ringgit because of the nation’s improving current-account position and prospects for fiscal consolidation. 

The PM’s reforms may not have been popular – but they were necessary. And in implementing them, the PM has proven his economic credentials, unlike the opposition, which appears to have borrowed its economic policy from Santa Claus – free gifts for everyone, with no thoughts of the consequences.  While campaigning a few days ago Anwar said, “I admit that a government cannot control all, but petrol and sugar prices should not be increased.”  The classic used car salesman:  tell them whatever they want to hear, as long as it gets you what you want.  

The PM’s reforms have not only upset the opposition. Even within the ruling coalition, there are those who follow Anwar and subscribe to the ``Father Christmas School of Economics``, demanding that the PM spends money the country doesn’t have on general subsidies the country doesn’t need. The PM has wisely resisted the siren voices that would dash our economy on the rocks.

He has cut wasteful subsidies, such as sugar, that not only makes the population unhealthier but also tends to benefit the middle class and wealthy Malaysians. Instead, the PM has focused on expanding measures such as BR1M – which gives cash directly to those poorer families in need.  BR1M also serves as a clever way to boost growth, because poorer households tend to spend their cash hand-outs, whereas  richer households tend to save extra income.

Sadly, those within BN who share Anwar’s reckless economic instincts also appear to share his penchant for destabilising politics. Taking their cue from Thailand’s hapless protest leader Suthep, there are a minority of people within BN who are trying to undermine the treasured stability of our political system.

Though unpopular, Najib’s economic policies are producing important results.  Credit Suisse has said that Malaysia’s credit rating is dependent on whether PM Najib has the resolve to see his reforms through.  Fortunately for Malaysia    he has shown he has the backbone, despite all the backdoor political shenanigans.  Achieving developed nation status and improving living standards for the rakyat depends on it.

Written by

Datuk Huan Cheng Guan

President

Centre for Political Awareness Malaysia

*This article has been featured in the Letters section of Malaysiakini.