PM: Brave measures kept us afloat

Govt worked for strong economic fundamentals at the expense of its popularity, says Najib

PUTRAJAYA: Realistic, brave economic decisions and prudent spending by the Government have kept Malaysia afloat, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The country’s economic fundamentals remained positive because of the “unpopular” measures the Government took, including introducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2015, said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

“We took brave measures at the expense of popularity to safeguard the country’s short and longterm interests.

“We do not do things just to gain popularity. If we were like the Opposition, we would not need to be realistic,” he said in his speech at the Finance Ministry’s excellent service awards ceremony here yesterday.

“They promise things that they know they would not be able to achieve if they were in power. But as the Government, we cannot act like that. Whatever decisions we make, we will be held accountable.

“In spending, we cannot make rushed decisions. We need to be prudent. Even when we borrow money, we make sure it is a productive investment.”

Najib said the economy showed “encouraging performance” despite numerous uncertainties it faced.

He pointed out that Malaysia’s growth averaged around 4.3% to 4.8% and that its deficit has been reduced from 6.7% in 2009 to 3.1% last year.

“We have set our debt limit at 55%, and last year it stood at 52.6%.

“We are not a Government that is wasteful in its spending. We have spent within our means,” he said.

Najib said GST was estimated to earn RM45bil in revenue this year.

“The decline of the price of oil has given us a loss of RM35bil. If we didn’t have GST, our country would have fallen headlong,” he said.

Najib said that under the 2050 National Transformation (TN50) plan, Malaysia aims to be one of the Top 20 countries in the world.

“Believe it, the country has shown that it is on the right track. As long as we actively pursue our aspirations, we can achieve this,” he said.

Also present at the ceremony was Treasury secretarygeneral Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.

Najib later presented excellent service awards to 81 Finance Ministry staffers.