ARKIB : 05/04/2010
PUTRAJAYA April 4 — The emphasis on a more efficient public sector delivery system in implementing the RM67 billion stimulus package was crucial in lifting the Malaysian economy quickly out of the doldrums after it was severely affected by the global recession last year.
"The hundreds and thousands of projects, big and small, being implemented under the stimulus package and delivered to the ground helped to turn the economy around in such a short period,” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said here today.
Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product registered a positive growth of 4.5 per cent in the last quarter of last year from a negative growth of 6.2 per cent when the package was first unveiled in March 2009.
The public delivery system was enhanced with the setting up of the Project Management Unit under the Finance Ministry to ensure projects and programmes were executed efficiently to ensure maximum impact on the economy.
"It is a very clear manifestation of the success of the government’s administration including civil servants who have been working hard to deliver the stimulus packages,” he said.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, was responding to questions on his first year in office posed by Bernama Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zulkefli Salleh and Bernama Economic Service Editor Mikhail Raj Abdullah during the programme on “Setahun di Aras 5: Temubual Khas Bersama Perdana Menteri” aired over Bernama TV.
To a question on why the stock market was mixed and somewhat lukewarm to the just-announced New Economic Model (NEM), he said “the market has always discounted whatever announcements made as they want to see specific details, milestones, timeline allocation and incentives.” To this end, Najib said specific allocations would be set aside for national key economic activities to be promoted when the 2011 budget is tabled on October 15.
He said the NEM would be announced and implemented in stages whereby after the announcement on March 30, it would be incorporated into the 10th Malaysia Plan, to be unveiled on June 10, and thereafter more details would be released in August.
Najib also dismissed notions the government caved in to political pressure in its implementation plans for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the dual petrol price ruling, saying that more time was needed to get public support for the initiatives.
He said the Opposition was twisting facts around on the GST proposal and this was why the government needed to clarify it to the people as it was good for them in the long-term.
"It is not a decision to back out but rather a decision to defer it for a while so that there will be more buy-in for the project as the government is receptive and sensitive to the feedback from the public,” he said.
As for the dual-petrol price structure, he said it was a very complex system and not worth the bother, but “we will reduce the fuel subsidies gradually as we don’t want to place too much burden on the people.” "So, its going to be a very carefully calibrated implementation,” said Najib.
To a suggestion that a reduction in fuel subsidies might be implemented after the General Election, Najib laughed it off, saying, “Well, the cynics and sceptics are always going to be there…you just have to take it as a challenge and prove them wrong.” Asked on whether the Federal government was willing to work with the opposition-held states for the development of the people, he said: “We have no problem in implementing development projects for the people. Basically, we want to be fair and substantial allocation has been given to states not controlled by Barisan Nasional.” He said the government has implemented projects such as schools, clinics and even IMalaysia clinics in “states we lost.” Najib also said the government would come down hard on employers who terminate Malaysian workers without severance pay or dish out lower wages to them or hire foreign workers at the expense of locals.
"Employers in this country should try their level best to employ more Malaysians and not be over-dependent on foreign labour,” he said.
On Malaysia’s employment rate, Najib said it was about 3.6 per cent which is really full employment “when you consider that we have 2.2 million foreign guest workers and another million illegal ones.” —BERNAMA
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