This is needed to control the devaluing of the ringgit and the impact of lower international oil prices on the Malaysian economy, says Malay economic group. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 21, 2015.Putrajaya's revised Budget 2015 should emphasise on precautionary measures to deal with government spending and to check corruption, said a Malay economic group.As the plunge of global fuel prices and weakening ringgit eat into the economy, Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) CEO Nizam Mahshar said the revised budget must have proper and effective steps to deal with graft and wastage, which have dogged the civil service for years."We feel that the restructuring of the budget is required and more emphasis must be placed on long-term measures as well as precautionary measures when it comes to government spending."This is needed as a stop-gap measure to control the devaluing of the ringgit, impact of lower international oil prices and the probability of an economic crisis that may happen in the near future," he said in a statement today.He said Putrajaya must also make sure all its available capital remained in the country in case an economic crisis hit, and urged the government to maintain its current position of not adopting capital control means to manage outflow of capital.This is to ensure the high-income group, multinationals and foreign investors did not withdraw their capital currently in Malaysia, he said.He said the budget revision had shown that during an economic crisis, there was a need for measures aimed at protecting local companies, such as a quota in government as well as GLC procurement for local companies, the promotion of Malaysian-made goods, use of local contractors, all of which ran contrary to the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)."This clearly shows that the government must reconsider joining the trade pact as these preferential measures involving local companies, government procurement and even the purchase of local goods are in direct violation of the conditions of the TPPA."Following Putrajaya's move to review the levy on foreign workers as part of its budget revision, Nizam said the government needed to increase the levy and tighten regulations on intake of foreign workers to ensure priority was given to Malaysians instead.He said this was in line with the recently published Khazanah Research Institute report which shows that for every 10 foreign workers allowed in, two Malaysians would be disadvantaged."We are also concerned that the government made no mention of any measure to combat inequality. In fact, there was not a single mention of any signs or steps to combat inequality in Malaysia."He also urged the government to focus more on measures that would encourage domestic economic growth, citing initiatives like pasar tani should be encouraged.While welcoming funds to fix and rebuild infrastructure, Nizam said there must be transparent mechanisms to ensure there was no wastage and corruption in the delivery and implementation of the projects involved. – January 21, 2015.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น