New administration must attract foreign investors, not shoot from the hip.
IT was a good headline grabber, but the purported violations, smacking of possible corruption, involving RM600bil now seem like just another political soundbite.
For a start, the staggering sum is larger than Bank Negara’s entire foreign reserves, which stood at RM509bil as of end-November. That should have been a red flag.
It is also reportedly twice the size of two Federal Government annual budgets put together.
Then, there was the insinuation that Perikatan Nasional’s election fund partly came from gaming companies involved in special draws, while there were also breaches in the awarding of the gigantic sum without tender on unspecified matters.
We are not quite sure why the newly-minted Prime Minister made the statement. Perhaps he was wrongly advised.
But the math doesn’t add up, to put it simply. Those who are not familiar with finances may swallow hook, line and sinker such political posturing.
Perhaps it was a way of telling off Perikatan, and particularly PAS, not to pretend to be pious as Anwar would probably be frustrated at the huge gains of the Islamist party.
But the bulk of the RM600bil, according to The Edge, is made up of the RM530bil fiscal package which included EPF withdrawals, moratorium on loans and direct cash assistance to poor families that came up to RM83bil during the Covid-19 pandemic.There were at least eight stimulus packages announced between March 2020 and June 2021 that were aimed at alleviating the hardships of people, including small businesses.
“These initiatives put money in the hands of the people and businesses. These were not government monies or government projects and contracts given out,’’ it reported.
In short, the business community is asking each other what tenders and contracts were purportedly given out.
Like all stimulus packages, there could be some leakages, but it certainly cannot amount to hundreds of billions, which even eclipses the 1MDB scandal.
The Malaysian public sector does not have RM600bil; it’s that simple.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has opened the investigation files and reportedly “called on relevant parties to submit information relating to the allegations of irregularities in the use of RM600bil” during the previous administration under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
But the MACC seems to have downplayed the RM600bil figure, saying its investigations would only focus on RM92.5bil the government spent on Covid-19 management measures, which involved government funds.
While it is good to hear the PM pledge action against corrupt ministers, promising they would be sacked immediately, the reality will be something else.
It is easier said than done because the procedure would be for the PM or someone to report to the MACC, and even if the person is charged in court, the PM will still have to exercise patience until the minister is convicted at the Federal Court.
The elephant is in the room. He has a Deputy Prime Minister who still has over 40 cases to answer and surely, he cannot act, based on allegations.
As Anwar himself has said, a person is innocent until proven guilty. So, he may wish to exercise caution when he makes such populist statements.
The new administration needs to ensure it is no longer in opposition. So, it needs to stop “ceramah-style” rhetoric.
Malaysians will tolerate some missteps from Cabinet ministers, who are still on a learning curve, but ahead of a difficult 2023, ministers no longer have the luxury of time.
The Cabinet found eggs thrown in its face when it announced that eggs can now be imported – only to be told that Malaysian eggs are the cheapest in the region and that eggs have a short lifespan of just 21 days.
One dozen Grade C eggs cost RM4.92, but in Thailand, they cost about RM7.42, Singapore (RM12.24), Indonesia (RM6.55), Brunei (RM10.15), and Vietnam (RM5.78), according to Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin, the boss of Mydin Hypermarkets.
He has suggested that Malaysia, as an exporter of eggs, ban the export of eggs to Singapore and Hong Kong until the shortage is resolved.
The problem is caused by poultry farms which have cut down production due to the increase in the prices of maize and soya beans, the two main ingredients for chicken feed, with calls to the government to review ceiling prices.
The optics do not look good for the new administration if it continues to shoot from the hip.
The Pakatan Harapan government needs to learn from its many mistakes during its 22-month tenure when it sent out negative vibes – Malaysia in financial troubles with Tabung Harapan launched and Sarawak being declared a bankrupt state.
Malaysia needs to build investors’ confidence to encourage foreigners to put their money here as a new political culture is set. That is the narrative the world wants to hear.
It’s time to move on, please.
