Focus on reforms to sustain economy – Economists
SUBANG JAYA: Malaysia has a window of opportunity over the next one to two years to implement deep-seated reforms which can sustain the economy before the global economic turnaround, said economists.
Sunway University Business School Economics Professor, Dr Yeah Kim Leng, said the country’s economic outlook for the next two to three years seemed to be positive.
“We have seen improvements in exports, which had exceeded the tranche growth. This is an opportunity to exploit the cyclical economic rebound to undertake structural reforms,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ‘ The Reform Programme for Dynamic Sustainable Development’ economic seminar recently.
The seminar was jointly organised by Sunway University and Malaysian Economic Association.
On the 2018 Budget, Yeah said, given the improving economy, the structural reform initiatives needed to be sustained, particularly with regards to raising income and wage levels.
“We do see positive follow-ups on initiatives like the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital economy, and the budget had also incorporated some of the 11th Malaysia Plan mid-term review.
“These initiatives ought to be sustained in the long run, while consistently addressing some of its vulnerabilities,” said Yeah.
The government also needed to strengthen the private sector’s confidence, particularly among the foreign investors, on its ability to address the people’s concerns while being capable of meeting the fiscal deficit target at the same time, he said. Turn to Page B2, Col 1