RUN on Malaysia markets possible if Putrajaya keeps lying about economic data - Wong Chen

KUALA LUMPUR - The government must be honest with economic data when presenting the revised budget tomorrow, Opposition politicians said.

PKR’s Wong Chen said currently the economic fundamentals looked good on paper.

The Kelana Jaya Member of Parliament said if the government failed to come up with a proper plan, then there could be a run on the market, adding that this would make it harder for the government to raise money from the markets.

He called on the government to set up a special committee, with parliamentarians from both sides of the divide, to discuss economic issues after the presentation of the revised budget.

“Whatever the problems faced at the moment, they must not be politicised because at the end of the day, it will be the people who will be hurt,” Wong told The Rakyat Post.

In stressing that this was his personal view, Wong said the country was facing a potential economic crisis, but hoped it would not be as bad as the one in 1997.

Eighteen years ago, Malaysia, along with Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, were affected by the Asian financial crisis, which saw then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad peg the ringgit against the U.S. dollar.

Wong also called on the government to set up a committee with national petroleum company Petronas and Bank Negara to deal with the falling oil price.

He said while the government may be responding three months too late to the global economic crisis, there must now be strong leadership from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Wong admitted he did not want to see a major political and economic crisis because if it occurred, the public “could end up losing jobs”.

Serdang Member of Parliament Ong Kian Ming also called on the Prime Minister to be honest about the expected losses in revenue due to the drop in oil price.

He explained that Petronas would be paying lower taxes and paying lower oil royalty.

The DAP lawmaker wanted to know how much of the money the government would continue to spend on subsidies.

Ong said Najib should inform the public whether there was going to be subsidies for the corporate sector, such as Tenaga Nasional and the independent power producers (IPPs).

He said the government must be honest about what type of budget cuts that needed to be carried out, if it became necessary. - http://www.therakyatpost.com/