Malaysia needs political stability to grow, says Rahman Dahlan

Updated 6 years ago · Published on 25 Jan 2018 2:15PM · 2 Comments

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan says economic fundamentals put in place by the Barisan Nasional government had proven to be successful as reflected by the stronger ringgit and higher GDP. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, January 25, 2018.

POLITICAL stability is crucial for Malaysia’s economy to grow, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

He said as the 14th general election drew nearer, the country will need a strong government by an experienced political party.

“Political fireworks are expected over the next three to four months. Having a stable political situation, will translate into good economic growth,” he said during the 2018 Standard Chartered Global Research Briefing in Kuala Lumpur.

The current parliament term expires on June 26, which means GE14 must be called within 60 days from that date.

Abdul Rahman also said that the business community hoped for a stable and good policy, but so far the opposition’s economic policy was nothing but disastrous and could wreck the economic fundamentals.

“They (opposition) plan to bring back subsidies which is popular, but it will be detrimental to the economy,” he said.

Alluding to the ringgit’s current appreciation against the US dollar, Abdul Rahman said that the economic fundamentals had proven to be successful, as reflected not only by the firmer ringgit but also the gross domestic product (GDP) which had improved and was above expectations.

“We (Barisan Nasional) have consistent and stable policies and if we continue to govern, we can assure you that this will be continued,” he said.

As of 9am today, the ringgit stood at 3.9010/9040 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 3.9110/9140.

On the nation’s debt, Rahman stressed that it was under control as it is still below 55% of the self-imposed limit.

“We are investing in infrastructure which will contribute to the future economic growth. The GDP is growing, the economy is doing great and the debt level is growing which is all right because it is backed by strong economic fundamentals,” he said.

As of end-September 2017, the nation’s debt amounted to RM687.43 billion. – Bernama, January 25, 2018.

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Comments

  • Do we need a thief as pm?

    Posted 6 years ago by Leslie Chan · Reply

  • We'e heard of this line in every election. Stability is the cornerstone of foreign investment into Malaysia no doubt. But the investors are not stupid and they will look at long term viability of Malaysia. A government that continues to lose money on bad investments or embezzle money, presides over an economy that cannot uplift the middle class and then cannot be defeated despite majority voters rejecting them, becomes a powderkeg for social unrest. Where is the stability then? If the government wants stability, it must let democracy run its course. I'm talking about wholesale changes from proportionate redelineation (or change to proportionate representative system - even better), decoupling mainstream media from political parties, reconstituting a professional and independent Election Commission, having an independent judiciary to preside over election related cases, revamping election laws for stricter enforcement against fraud, automatic registration, election process integrity through procedural changes and opening up for scrutiny, making sure there is no selective prosecution or refusal to prosecute actual crimes, and criminalising hate speeches but not critiques of powers that be etc. Which is why Bersih demands are nothing to laugh at. We don't even care who wins. Once there is level playing field, both sides can slug it out fair and square. Then there will be no reason to have social-political tension and we have real stability. it is doubtful though if BN will ever do this. So the question for foreign investors now is not whether Malaysia is a good place to invest, but if we invest in Malaysia, how long before we have to move out? Malaysians should think of this long and hard and decide who to vote in the next election.

    Posted 6 years ago by Quigon Bond · Reply