Posted on 22 Jan 2015
Malaysia’s economy remains strong despite a global slowdown and the drop in crude oil prices, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said in an interview with TV3 last night that he did not think there would be retrenchments or a drop in income for workers.
However, he said the slowdown in business might result in fewer jobs in the market place.
“This does not mean we are facing a crisis; the number of workers will increase but at a slower rate,” he said.
He said Malaysia’s economic fundamentals were strong and could withstand challenges caused by the unexpected drastic drop in crude oil prices.
Najib said this was the reason why he announced the revision of the Budget on Tuesday.
However, he underscored the fact that nearly RM48.5bil allocated for development was maintained.
“What was done was a revision of the operating expenditure which was reduced by RM5.5bil to offset the reduction of revenue,” he said in an hour-long question and answer programme with host Datuk Charon Mokhzani.
Najib said the impact of the drop in revenue would also be mitigated by the fact that the Government no longer subsidised petrol and diesel.
He said inflation was expected to be between 2.5% and 3.5% even when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented.
Najib said among the reasons for this was that the drop of pump prices for RON97, RON95 and diesel would leave consumers with more disposable income.
He said April 1 remained the best time to implement the GST due to relatively low inflation and the fact that the Government needed to increase revenue.
Najib said the Government would prove that the broad-based income tax was the right measure implemented at the right time.
He urged Malaysians not to lose focus on the collective goal for the country to have an advanced eco-nomy by 2020.
“This is a shared vision, not just that of the Government, and must be supported by everybody for it to become a reality,” he said.
