Economic experts laud govt’s plan to monetise its assets

PETALING JAYA: The government’s plan to monetise its assets as a way to increase its revenue has received a favourable response from economists.

Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd chief economist Manokaran Mottain said this would trim the government’s debts – at least for the time being.

“Non-core buildings might also be sold. They (the government) are holding too many buildings which have been vacant.

“The best thing is to sell them to the private sector and use the funds to trim the debts,” he said.

As for the golden shares held by the government, Manokaran felt they would not be sold but the holdings might be reduced, which would increase the liquidity of the companies in the stock market.

He said there were also certain packages of government-owned land that were available to be sold.

He was responding to a statement by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on the setting up of two committees – one on public finance and the other on tax reform – by the government to strengthen its fiscal agenda in a more sustainable manner.

“To augment these measures, the federal government will monetise some of its holdings in non-critical, non-strategic companies in an orderly fashion while engaging in planned and scheduled public auction of state land.

“Previously, these land assets were often sold at steep discounts to politically connected entities under opaque arrangements, depriving the federal government of additional revenue,” he said yesterday.

Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute’s Centre for Public Policy Studies chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said the monetisation would protect the Budget’s integrity and reduce the government’s role in business.

“It will enable the private sector to have more space to expand and prosper,” Ramon said.

Sunway University Business School’s professor of economics Dr Yeah Kim Leng said it was a good avenue to divest non-core assets to raise additional revenue.

“More importantly, divestments can be done through open tender and auction to maximise the value to the government. It must be on an open and transparent basis,” he said.

Joining Lim, who will chair the Public Finance Committee, are Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and Bank Negara Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.

The Tax Reform Committee will assess the nation’s taxation system holistically to make it more efficient and progressive.

The Finance Ministry is engaging relevant stakeholders to solicit input for Budget 2019, which will be tabled in Parliament on Nov 2.

Lim also urged the rakyat to participate in the Budget process by sharing ideas at belanjawan2019. treasury.gov.my until Sept 30.

They can also share their views on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #belanjawan2019.