Focusing on the economy despite the noise

THE economy surprised on the upside by growing 4.9% in the second quarter. It is a commendable achievement, considering how regional countries have performed with many showing slower growth.

The growth also came despite challenges in commodities and the perceived sluggishness at home, with the property sector still finding the going tough.

As domestic consumption lifted growth once again, a briefing by the government was conducted with local economists recently to give an update on the economy and the policy direction of the country.

Various issues were discussed in the meeting, shedding more light on what is in store for the country in the months ahead.

Interestingly, the fiscal deficit is in focus. Maybe the target to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3% in 2020 from 3.4% in 2019 may not be cast in stone.

There are economic headwinds ahead and although the risk of Malaysia heading into a recession next year is slim to none, with the central bank yesterday saying it does not expect a 2008-like crash, the noise in the global arena will affect growth.

The discussion did touch on various subjects, like where the government wants the manufacturing sector to be headed and reforms in the education system to focus more on English and coding for those in standard four onwards. Also, the bottom 40 can expect cash instead of a petrol card when it comes to dealing with the petrol subsidy.

Trade will be strengthened with more free trade agreements and will look more towards Asean to beef up the merchandise side of the economy.

Also spoken at length were the policy changes that will put Malaysia on a more solid and mature footing to really zero in on weeding out corruption.

It is good to know that while we are fending off tension from unnecessary and detrimental racial issues, the management and steering of the economy continues to be unaffected by the discord that is being sown in society today.