MALAYSIA’S slide down in the World Competitiveness Ranking is a warning that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration is lacking in good governance, Lim Guan Eng said today.

The DAP national chairman said the decline shows that the country has to put in place better policies.

“This latest competitiveness report does not augur well for the Malaysian economy buffeted by soaring prices and high cost of living, rising corruption, acute labour shortages, weakening ringgit, government red tape, traffic jams and communications congestion.

“At a time when the ringgit should be strengthening with high oil prices and soaring commodity prices, especially oil palm, the ringgit has dipped to record lows against the US and Singapore dollar, two of our three largest trading partners,” the Bagan  lawmaker said in a statement.

The ringgit continued its downward trend, trading at RM4.42 against the greenback yesterday, the lowest since March 2020.

Meanwhile, the ringgit depreciated to its weakest level against the Singapore dollar on May 24 after the exchange rate surpassed 3.2.

Malaysia was ranked 32nd in the 2022 International Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Ranking, down seven positions from the 25th spot in 2021.

The former finance minister said given the increasing cost of food items, the government should establish a price stabilisation fund and a buffer stockpile of essential commodities to moderate price escalations and fluctuations.

The abolishment of the approved permit should not be slowed down by red tape while subsidy payouts must be done in a timely fashion, Lim said.

He also called on Putrajaya to remedy labour shortage problems that are affecting industries across the board as this will affect the economy.

“The government should stop being in denial, claiming that inflation is under control at 2.3%, when this is due to controlled prices. A more accurate reflection is by looking at the Producer Price Index which was at 11% in April. 

“The prime minister should direct his ministers to go down to the ground to get a realistic assessment by visiting markets instead of going for overseas trips,” he added. – June 15, 2022.