Hold polls to end political instability, say business bodies

 

A general election ‘would at least be a start’ to ending the political uncertainty in the country, says Sean Cheah of the.Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

PETALING JAYA: Two business organisations have suggested that a general election be held to end excessive politicking and increase investor confidence in the economy.

Spokesmen for the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) and the SME Association of Malaysia said perceived political instability was dampening investor confidence in the country.

MICCI executive director Shaun Cheah said domestic and foreign investors were either withholding investment decisions or cautiously investing until they could see a more stable political environment.

He was commenting on a recent statement from Federal Territories Umno Youth leader Nizham Abdullah Hamidi that heavy politicking was affecting the government adversely, especially in its decision-making process.

Shaun Cheah.

Nizham added that neighbouring countries were attracting foreign investors while Malaysian leaders were busy politicking.

Cheah, while acknowledging that the international trade and industry ministry was doing its best to encourage investments, criticised other ministries for introducing policies that he said could put off investors.

“Populist policies are being announced without due engagement with stakeholders and without proper thought,” he told FMT. “When policies and bans can be done purely on sentiment and not on sound economic reasons, it will create uncertainties for investors.”

He lamented the absence of an anti-corruption narrative and sounded the alarm on the rise of conservatism in the country.

“Conservatism is trending and there is no push back on this to reassure foreign investors that this is a country that respects the rule of law, one that has conducive, stable policies.”

He said a general election “would at least be a start” to ending the political instability.

SME Association secretary-general Chin Chee Seong agreed that a general election might lead to political stability.

Chin Chee Seong.

However, he called for the enactment of an anti-hopping law so that the new government would serve a full term.

“The stability of the state governments affects investor confidence, too. For example, in Johor, we have Singaporeans investing in the state. If the state government changes, it would lead to policy changes and the investors will surely not make decisions right now.”

He said many businesses had suffered due to frequent changes in the leadership of the government.

In many instances, when there was a change in ministers, the chief secretary and heads of ministerial agencies were changed as well, he noted.

“It definitely affects their operation and leads to changes in the implementation of various projects that have been approved by former ministers.”

He cited the East Coast Rail Link as an example. The project was approved during the Barisan Nasional era but was halted by the Pakatan Harapan government, which later revived it after renegotiating terms with the Chinese government.

Berjoyai Bardai.

But economist Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak told FMT he did not think having a general election would bring an end to the political instability.

“We have a scrambled, disunited opposition and BN as well,” he said.

“We are not going to solve this political instability by having a general election. It is better for the current parties to resolve their own problems or else we are going to see another situation like Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation as prime minister in 2020.” - FMT