After Fitch downgrade, Guan Eng wants no-confidence vote

 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin should allow a no-confidence motion to prove his strength as the nation is in the throes of a political and economic crisis, said Lim Guan Eng.

The former finance minister was responding to reports that Fitch Ratings had downgraded Malaysia's sovereign credit ratings.

"PN is in denial that Malaysia is in the midst of a political and economic crisis and this risks further future downgrade of sovereign credit ratings.

"As it is, Fitch Ratings has downgraded Malaysia's sovereign credit ratings for the first time since the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis, and Malaysia is the first major Asean country to suffer such a fate in the current Covid-19 pandemic," Lim added in a statement today.

He said the sovereign credit rating downgrade is a vote of no-confidence by independent and international financial experts and should serve as an urgent wake-up call for the government to execute immediate political and economic structural reforms.

Lim, who is also Bagan MP, said PN is not showing any sign of addressing the decline of Malaysia's key credit metrics that led to the downgrade from A- to BBB+, namely political instability and lack of transparency or governance standards.

"The unceremonious removal of the Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu by his own PN ally Umno last week underscores Fitch's on-the-spot assessment of Muhyiddin’s slim two-seat parliamentary majority as the cause of the political instability.

"Muhyiddin should boldly address this political instability by allowing a motion of no-confidence in Parliament.

"His refusal to do so only displays his political weakness and his fears that he has lost his parliamentary majority. Any delay will only perpetuate the current toxic political culture of sacrificing national interests for selfish personal survival," he added.

It should be noted that during the ongoing voice votes at the committee stage in the Dewan Rakyat, the Budget 2021 has consistently passed with a majority.

Meanwhile, Lim went on to allege that Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was sugar-coating the numbers and should disclose realistic and accurate projections of the GDP growth, revenue collections and government debt.

"Fitch expects general government debt to jump to 76 percent of GDP in 2020 from 65.2 percent of GDP in 2019, and direct government debt at RM874.27 billion or 60.7 percent of GDP as at end-September, which is above the statutory ceiling of 60 percent of GDP.

"More importantly, Fitch views that deterioration in governance and continued political uncertainty could dampen investor sentiment, constraining economic growth.

"Clearly, this negative perception is not helped by the political cannibalisation of government resources with open tenders taking a back seat to negotiated tenders, and replacing the professional board of directors of government-linked companies (GLCs) with political appointments, such as the offer of the post of Petronas chairperson to Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to buy political support," Lim added. - Mkini