THE economic indicators used by the Finance and International Trade Ministries, which claim the economy is doing well are outdated, said Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid.

“They said that the 2020 Q3 (third quarter) GDP was not so bad but the Q2 was the worst ever with no investments coming in,” said the economist on the Jom forum last night.

“With unemployment having doubled (from 30 years ago), how can they say that the economy is not bad?” said Muhammed.

The ministers should go to the ground more often to see how bad the economy is for the poor, he said.

“It is true that the sales of luxury cars, such as Mercedes-Benz, improved last year. But this only means that the rich remain rich but the poor get poorer.”

He was commenting on Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz’s comments that Malaysia recorded the lowest contraction of 2.7% in Southeast Asia in Q3 last year compared with Singapore (-7%), Indonesia (-3.5%) and the Philippines (-11.5%).

Tengku Zahfrul said Putrajaya’s Permai stimulus package is an improvement of the initiatives announced in Budget 2021 as well as ongoing initiatives in the Prihatin economic stimulus package and the national economic recovery plan (Penjana).

But Muhammed questioned the effectiveness of Permai for the man on the street.

“Take Mak Cik Kiah, for instance. She will only get the balance of Prihatin’s RM300 this year. The grants given to small businesses may not reach her as only one million or the 2.4 million hawkers and traders are registered.”

He said the initiatives announced by the government one week after reinstituting the movement-control order (MCO) are inadequate for a majority of the poor in Malaysia.

“Even the RM100 food baskets that they will give out are not enough as they are basing their assessment on 500,000 poor households.

“This number is pre-Covid-19. So, how will this help the ones who have lost jobs or have reduced employment this year?”

Muhammed was speaking at an online forum with consultant physician Dr Musa Mohd Nordin on Covid-19 and the economic impact of the MCO. Dr Abu Hafiz Salleh Hudin moderated the session.

He said the constant standard operating procedure (SOP) flip-flops are not helping businesses.

“When they first announced the MCO, the automotive industry was not allowed to operate. But now it can again.

“Since then, however, Toyota and Honda have said they will cease operations,” said Muhammed. – January 21, 2021.