PUTRAJAYA’S stimulus package does not adequately meet the gap in earnings to protect the most affected population, particularly children, from food insecurity and starvation, said Anwar Ibrahim.

The PKR president said the government’s economic outlook must be tempered to reflect the “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.

“During these times, effective leadership means managing the crisis with an honest appraisal of the problem without sugar-coating and selective presentation of the data,” he today told a press conference telecast from his residence in Petaling Jaya.

Anwar said projections indicate the Malaysian economy could contract by -1% to as much as -4.6% in 2020, necessitating an “honest characterisation” of the problem by the government.

He added that the government must take “dramatic and unprecedented measures” to support the domestic economy, particularly the vast majority of Malaysians and small business owners who do not have the savings to survive the downturn.

“The optimism expressed by the finance minister (Tengku Zafrul Aziz) over some projections that Malaysia could recover to 5.8% growth in 2021 is troubling in light of the fact that we still do not know the full extent of the Covid-19 crisis impact, when it will end and how it will impact all of the economies which are linked to ours,” he said.

He said the movement control order (MCO), enforced to stop the spread of Covid-19, will last at least six weeks and possibly longer.

The MCO came into effect on March 18 and was recently extended till April 28.

“We know that a substantial majority of Malaysian workers have less than one month of savings to endure this period of hardship according to a report from Inceif (International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance).

About 35% of the self-employed will lose at least 90% of their income and another 46% will lose their jobs altogether, said Anwar, citing the Statistics Department. 

“When I look at the sum total of data about Malaysia’s exposure to Covid-19 crisis, in particular our exposure to falling oil and other commodity prices, the ongoing impact of Covid-19 to our most important trading partners, including China, the United States as well as our friends in Asean, and the global impact of Covid-19 on tourism and trade, I urge our leadership to be more realistic in their pronouncements.”

Amid an extended shutdown, Anwar called for transparency in the disbursement of Prihatin funds to poor Malaysians and small-medium enterprises which are facing a record struggle for survival.

He said measures need to be put in place to protect individuals and businesses in the B40 group from suffering bankruptcy while the economy regains its footing.

The former finance minister also called for a “Buy Malaysian” campaign to assist local businesses.

“In this context, Pakatan Harapan is calling for a special emergency session of parliament to deliberate over these issues and to give support to measures that could address the major problems facing the country today.” – April 14, 2020.