No quick fix
Daim: The people must be ready to make and accept difficult decisions
KUALA LUMPUR: Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) described Malaysia’s economy as having a multitude of problems and that there was no quick fix to it.
Chairman of the council Tun Daim Zainuddin said that the government and the rakyat must be ready to make and accept difficult decisions for the long-term benefits of the nation.
“There are no quick fixes to the problems that the council has identified and many challenges still lie ahead,” Daim said.
The CEP was set up on May 12, three days after Pakatan Harapan toppled the Barisan Nasional government, which ruled the country for 61 years, at the behest of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Its primary role was to help the government achieve the promises of Pakatan Harapan in the first 100 days of its ruling. Dr Mahathir has said that the CEP would continue to function beyond the 100-days to help him manage the government.
Considering that the domestic economy is weakening due to a significant drop in public sector spending and uncertainties from the external sector, the extension of tenure for the existence of the CEP does not come as a surprise.
During Dr Mahathir’s tenure as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003, he counted on Daim as his confidante in steering the economy through the tough times.
Daim was the Finance Minister in the 1985 recession and returned to serve the government as an adviser in the 1998 economic crisis.
Daim, who was with the previously the Finance Minister in Dr Mahathir’s government in the 1990s, said that the Finance Ministry is at top of the list of that must improve its governance.
“Number one is the Ministry of Finance. It must bring in revenue and money for the country and make sure expenditure is not wasted.
“And there must be no corruption,” he told reporters at a briefing yesterday.
“And do not politicise the civil service,” he added.
In a press conference lasted for almost an hour, Daim pointed out that the council has completed its 100-day tasked and would be submitting its recommendations based on its findings to the government.
In the 100 days, the CEP met more than 200 organisations to get a pulse of the Malaysian economy.
He said it was up to the government to share the recommendations by CEP which highlighted three main areas. They are measures to improve governance, the well-being of the rakyat and the need to ensure that the economy is inclusive and sustainable.
On the toll highway abolition, Daim reckoned that it was not the right time to execute the move, which is one of the pledges of Pakatan Harapan, due to the country’s financial position
“We had submitted our proposal, and while the idea is to remove toll completely, but at the current financial position it’s not wise to do it at this stage.
“There are ways to do it. I think it needs more time, because the bulk of highway concessions belong to GLCs, in another word it belongs to the government. It is a matter of studying carefully and analysing the numbers,” he said.
Daim said CEP had also many proposals on the abolishment of tolls from the concessionaires.
However, we feel that the proposals need
more scrutiny.
“Some of the proposals are not complete and everyone seems to have their own ideas,’ said Daim.
When asked would the recommendations by CEP help Pakatan
Harapan meet its fiscal targets on the federal government finances, Daim only said that the stock market would do well in two years.
“If I can predict correctly in two years, I think we can all go to the stock market and make a lot of money.”
He said that the people must bare in mind the economy faced unpredictable external headwinds and that the upcoming budget would be a crucial piece of policy document.
“We can follow and watch closely and monitor and take action to
make sure that our objectives are met,” he said.
Daim said that the recommendations made by CEP would not be made public for now and would be submitted to Dr Mahathir upon his return from China, where he is currently on a five-day state visit.