Covid-19: The other danger

 

The government is spending billions of ringgit on tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and its fallout.

We know, for instance, that Parliament approved RM3 billion in the 2021 budget to purchase Covid-19 vaccines. Subsequently, the government allocated an additional RM2 billion for this purpose.

To help stimulate the economy constrained by the several lockdowns on activities since March 2020, Muhyiddin Yassin’s government announced six economic stimulus packages over the months, the last involving RM20 billion this March 17 under what it called the Pemerkasa package.

The earlier packages also had some public relations-sounding names: Prihatin (with a RM250 allocation), Prihatin SMEs (RM10 billion), Penjana (RM35 billion), Kita Prihatin (RM10 billion) and Permai (RM15 billion).

The total value of the packages is RM340 billion.

Prior to Covid-19, there was a cap of 55% of gross domestic product (GDP) to both domestic and external debts. However, this self-imposed limit was increased under the Covid-19 Temporary Measures Act to 60% of the GDP.

On March 22, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the total debt, including offshore and other borrowings, amounted to RM879.6 billion or 62% of the gross domestic product.

Zafrul was later reported as saying that if liabilities were included, the total debt would reach RM1.26 trillion.

In warning about Malaysia’s debt affordability, Moody’s Investors Service had last year said the government’s debt burden was higher than similarly-rated countries and that this was a “significant constraint on the rating”.

Recently, the government passed a new emergency ordinance which amended the National Trust Fund Act 1988 to allow the fund to be used for the procurement of vaccines and related expenditure.

Many have questioned the necessity for this.

My worry is that the government may dip too much into the nation’s monetary resources and reserves to procure vaccines and on stimulus packages to the detriment of our future financial stability.

In fact, the prime minister was reported as saying on April 12 that vast sums of money had been spent last year and this year on the fight against Covid-19 and the economic stimulus packages.

He was quoted as saying that because of this, “we don’t have much money left”.

That’s worrying, as it comes from the prime minister. In fact, that’s more reason why the government should ensure accountability and transparency. But then, can we expect this in a state of emergency?

After all, with the state of emergency, the government has carte blanche use of the nation’s resources. Parliament remains suspended due to the state of emergency and the voice of the voters cannot be effectively heard; there are also no checks and balances as would exist under normal circumstances.

So it is incumbent upon the government to ensure the people’s money is spent prudently.

I’m also worried that with so much being spent on vaccinations and curbing the spread of the disease, the government may neglect or would be forced to neglect other areas of the nation’s development and wellbeing.

By concentrating on Covid-19, will the government reduce expenditure on other needed health areas? For instance, we still need more hospitals and government clinics, especially in Sabah and Sarawak; we still need more beds for other diseases in government hospitals; we still need to ensure patients, especially the poor, get the medicines they need and on time from public hospitals.

I fear the government is not doing enough to handle the psychological-related issues arising from the lockdowns and loss of income too. Domestic violence, for instance, has increased during the past year of movement restrictions.

If our health facilities are compromised in any way, it’ll mean more suffering and deaths of those afflicted.

Roads need to be built and repaired. If road repairs are not given priority, it may result in motor vehicle accidents. That means more injuries and deaths.

Drains need to be cleared and rivers deepened to prevent or reduce floods, apart from ensuring that physical development projects are properly planned and monitored. We have seen how floods cause millions of ringgit in damage every year and also swallow lives.

With schools closing for long periods and opening and closing again due to the discovery of Covid-19 clusters, the education of students is being stunted. The government doesn’t seem to have a coherent plan to handle this problem.

As it is, our education system does not inspire much confidence and if the current confusion continues, we may end up with even fewer competent school leavers and graduates. That would be the biggest tragedy. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.