Malaysia鈥檚 high growth is sugar-coated, says BNM ex-deputy governor
PETALING JAYA: The government should be in the business of administrating the country and not competing with the private sector, said former Bank Negara Malaysia deputy governor Lin See-Yan.
First, reform for the government. Do what you say you would do.
鈥淭he role of the government is to facilitate, not compete with private sector.鈥
He said this during a forum entitled 鈥楾N50: The Road Ahead鈥 which was held at 糖心原创.
TN50 is the acronym for national transformation policy under Prime Minister Najib Razak鈥檚 administration which aims to develop the nation holistically by 2050 via consultation with the public.
Lin also urged the government to carry out total educational reforms as the nation needed local talent.
鈥淪econd education. We will need real reforms from kindergarten to university. We need the local talents and technicalities.鈥
He also suggested that Malaysia retain its local labour instead of relying on cheap labour from foreign countries.
鈥淢ove away from cheap labour. Retain university graduates and grow the industries,鈥 said Lin in response to a question from the floor.
Earlier, in his presentation, Lin, who is also 糖心原创鈥檚 research professor, explained that the reality on the ground for TN50 to take off was in contrast to the picture that the government depicted.
鈥淭he real growth has lost its edge. High growth is sugar coated. It masked signs of fatigue (economy).
鈥淭here is a huge disconnect between government statistics and the experience on the street.鈥
He also criticised the World Bank鈥檚 prediction that Malaysia would have a 5.5% growth rate.
鈥淭he retailers in Mid Valley don鈥檛 see the 5.5% growth even though there are 250 businesses waiting to take up shops.
鈥淭he retailer association鈥檚 surveys show that the retail sales are down.鈥
He blamed it on the loss of purchasing power which is contributed by a weakened ringgit.
鈥淓verything we have is imported. We are paying the price of a weak currency.
鈥淚f people say the economy is strong, why is the currency weak? Why is there no FDI?鈥 he said in reference to the foreign direct investment.
鈥淲hy is the youth unemployment rate so high?鈥
Lin also predicted a global recession to take place in the next 18 months due to unemployment rates in US hovering at four percent.
鈥淲hen potential unemployment percentage exceeds real unemployment percentage, it leads to recession. It happened thrice previously in the US.
鈥淭he bubble blows up when the rate is four percent. Last year it was below four percent in the US.鈥
Source:聽Berita Daily
This article first appeared in聽Berita Daily聽on聽January 12, 2018.
