Latest World Bank report bad news for BN


THE latest World Bank report shows that Malaysia’s economy is growing weaker.

Out of the 15 Asian economies analysed in the report, Malaysia and a few others are the only ones expected to worsen.

The World Bank forecasts that under current conditions, in 2018, Malaysia’s growth rate will lower to 5% and in 2019, decrease further to 4.8%.

There is less than three months to go until 2018.

As the new World Bank report describes Malaysia’s economy: “The main risks to growth arise from the policy uncertainty in the major economies, geopolitical developments and commodity price volatility.”

While most Asian economies are rising, Malaysia’s is in decline, because it has not adapted to both global and domestic economic conditions.

The report also singles out Malaysia as one of only two Asian economies where household debt “exceeds 70% of GDP”. Many economists have concluded that Malaysia’s debt bubble is about to explode.

As others have correctly noted, the gross domestic product numbers and global economic rankings with which Najib is obsessed haven’t benefited Malaysians.

As the World Bank country manager for Malaysia Farid Hadad-Zervos recently warned: “This is the fundamental question: what does GDP really mean in the daily life of Malaysians?”

During his failed US visit, Najib said Malaysia’s 5.2% growth is “the envy of advanced economies”. To which everyone should immediately respond: “Iraq had 11% growth, Bangladesh had 7.1% growth and Ethiopia had 7.6% growth last year – should they be the envy of the advanced economies, too?”

Instead, Malaysia is falling behind its Asian neighbours.

As Bloomberg reported last month, Indonesians and Thais are the world’s top 10 populations where the highest numbers of millionaires are being created, increasing by 13.7% and 12.7% respectively.

Unlike its Asian neighbours, Malaysia still has not entered either the G20 or the trillion-dollar GDP club (Barisan Nasional’s latest target is a trillion ringgit).

According to the United Nations, the Malaysian youth unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 12.1% and rising – approximately quadruple the national unemployment rate. A recent Bank Negara survey showed that three out of four Malaysians find it difficult to raise even RM1,000 in an emergency.

Najib is notorious for falsifying economic data in his speeches, selectively quoting reports, omitting bad economic news, and twisting the complete economic portrait of Malaysia, because he is politically unstable.

In the recent best-seller The Rise and Fall of Nations, the author describes a particularly hilarious but disturbing story about Najib’s inability to understand the Malaysian economy:

“On a visit to New York in October 2015, one of my colleagues asked (Najib) whether the collapse of the value of the ringgit is offering any boost to the nation’s embattled manufacturing sector. He answered by missing the point, saying the cheap ringgit is great for tourism, which can be an important contributor to growth in a country as large as Malaysia. Pressed on the manufacturing question, Najib seemed at a loss. An aide in the back of the room pitched in to help, but spoke about investing in oil and other raw materials. The crowd left with the impression that Malaysia is missing an opportunity, because the cheap currency coupled with the right reforms could supercharge Malaysian manufacturing.”

All Malaysians should read the new World Bank report to draw their own conclusions about whether Barisan Nasional is missing additional opportunities for growth – or whether it’s more focused on protecting the elite few. – October 9, 2017.

* Athena Athena reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.


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Comments


  • After GE14, when problems cannot or will not be papered over .......................

    Posted 6 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • fellow malaysian need to open their eyes wide and think wisely with their brains on to make decision for this upcoming election. dont be a fool voting for the same party eventhough they didnt give any benefits to the fellow countrymen






    Posted 6 years ago by Ta mz · Reply

    • You need to open your eyes wide and read the actual world bank report and think wisely with your brains. The latest world bank did not say that we are in red. Maybe Athene should show me how do you correlate the world bank data into your writing and deduce it is a bad news for Malaysia

      Posted 6 years ago by Thai Prince · Reply

    • It is at least a bad news for Najib, the world worst finance minister. That's exactly this article is all about.

      Posted 6 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • Just another lopsided economic review by a BN hater i guess. Generally the Malaysian economy is good and recently we have recorded an increase in the household income. That indicates the unemployment rate is dwindling.

    Posted 6 years ago by VIJI KUMAR · Reply

  • The best way to get a fair economic information is to read financial weekly like The Edge. Even The Sun dailies also provides a fair review on the current economic situation. Athena Athena is not giving a reliable account on our economy for sure. So don't u ever jump into conclusion based on her half baked knowledge of econoomy

    Posted 6 years ago by VIJI KUMAR · Reply

  • all this, is the result of the dirty politics committed by the opposition. The bad perception made against the government should not be trusted because all the accusations made by the opposition are just defamatory and have their personal agenda.

    Posted 6 years ago by Firdaus azman · Reply

  • this is just another wild statement on malaysia's economy.economy is increasing steadily and in good condition. while unemployment rate is diminish slowly, malaysia's steady building development and others gave a good impact on our economy.

    Posted 6 years ago by Christina tan keong · Reply

  • government will ensure that the country's economy remains strong in the future. the government is also trying to ensure the unemployment rate in the country decreases in tandem with the country's economic development.

    Posted 6 years ago by Firdaus azman · Reply

  • Malaysia is always thinking about how to increase the nation's income in line with the country's economic development. The indictment of the irresponsible person who claims the economy of the country to suffer losses is baseless at all. With various economic stimuli introduced by Malaysia as well as overseas investments, the country's income is seen to grow positively.

    Posted 6 years ago by Shahrul Ahmad · Reply

    • You need to read carefully, the article says Malaysia falls behind other countries and is in the declining state. Who is in charge that causes this? Najib!

      Posted 6 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • How can they all write like that,this is an insult to the ketuanan's fellas this must be a plot by the isrealis to finish off ketuanan fellas

    Posted 6 years ago by Leslie Chan · Reply