Fear worse than disease, says Guan Eng amid economic concerns over Covid-19

CORONAVIRUS | Amid concerns about the economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the fear of recession can be worse than the disease itself.

“(There is) no fear of recession but of course there are other fears.

“Sometimes the fear is worse than the disease itself, so we should not be trapped by fear and we should deal with the challenge by relying on facts and also maintaining confidence in the resilience of our economy and the hardworking nature of the people of Malaysia,” Lim (above) said in a press conference in Putrajaya today.

He also pointed to the economic stimulus package which will be announced by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad next Thursday on Feb 27 in response to claims that the government is reacting too slow to economic headwinds such as the virus outbreak.

“Some say we are too fast (in announcing the stimulus package) because it is not clear yet what the impact of Covid-19 is.

“I do not understand why you say we are slow,” he said.

Malaysia is one of the earliest countries to announce a stimulus package compared to other countries who made similar announcements after Malaysia, he added.

The stimulus package is designed to help the sectors affected by the virus outbreak, he said.

A resort in Sabah. The tourism industry is one of the sectors affected by the virus outbreak.  

“(It is) to ensure that (the businesses) are still around – functional, operational and able to reap the benefits of a rebound – and to maintain confidence amongst not only investors but the public in the Malaysian economy,” he said.

The minister stressed that the government cannot fully reimburse whatever losses the industries have suffered.

They can only try to mitigate these losses so that the industries can be poised to reap the benefits of a rebound.

If the Covid-19 effects blow over by April, then there should be an economic rebound, he said.

Lim also advised the rakyat to stand united against fake news and trust the Health Ministry.

“Please trust in what the Health Ministry has done. I think they have done a pretty good job… under very trying circumstances.

“At the same time, we are rational, we follow the guidelines set up by the World Health Organisation,” he said.

The priority, he said, remains the safety, health and lives of the people of Malaysia. - Mkini