KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Putrajaya must tread lightly on any further austerity measures despite the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s support, several academics have said amid heavy debt...
Court of Appeal tells AGC to decide by September on representation of Zahid's acquittal in foreign visa bribery caseAlthough the Yang diPertuan Agong said he supports the government’s move to immediately take austerity measures, many academics have warned Putrajaya must tread lightly.
Similarly, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s political scientist Azmil Tayeb has pointed to the austerity measures taken by the previous Pakatan Harapan administration under then finance minister Lim Guan Eng, which he said were not well received.“It was not popular nor significantly benefited the people who need the help the most,” he suggested.
Last month, Yang diPertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim said he supports the government’s move to immediately take austerity measures including implementing targeted subsidies since the government has always been in a position of fiscal deficit since 1998. To address the country’s fiscal position, the government in the past year has among others raised the rate of the sales and services tax for some services, implementing low-value goods tax and luxury goods tax, and rationalising subsidies for electricity tariffs and diesel.
“The government can consider promoting double or triple pension recipients to honourably opt for only the highest pension, as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had done. “A blanket austerity measure especially when they affect the social safety net would be foolhardy and not help to spur the economy, especially domestic consumption,” Azmil said.Given the dire need to recover economically, Azmi said is confident that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can prove it in parliament.
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