Anwar’s flip-flop sending businesses the wrong message

 

From Wong Teck Kuan

For the longest time, Malaysia has been a regional haven for foreign investors due to our stability.

Unlike countries like Thailand, Cambodia or the Philippines, we had a stable government, and foreign investors knew what to expect.

They knew that they wouldn’t wake up one morning to see tanks rolling down the streets following a military coup, and their assets nationalised.

Consistency and stability are the cornerstones of our economy.

As a small-time business owner who regularly mingles within corporate circles, especially in social events, I can vouch that entrepreneurs generally prefer long-term stability over incentives like tax breaks.

So, it came as a surprise when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently announced that his government was not averse to policy flip-flops if it’s for the betterment of the people.

This is over his administration’s decision to maintain subsidies for chicken and eggs, although it had earlier announced that prices would be floated starting July 1.

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Putting aside the economic merits of the decision, the optics have raised concern among the investment community about the slippery slope the government now finds itself in.

If today the government can so flippantly disregard its earlier decision on the poultry industry involving billions of ringgit, what next?

Anwar buckling under political pressure to continue with the subsidies for chickens and eggs has worried the business community.

A government cannot have “let’s flip flop for the sake of the rakyat” as a policy.

This spooks investors and up-ends their long-term plans.

This also shows that the government is not efficient and can be easily swayed by political pressure into making decisions that may be detrimental to the country in the long run.

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A government that is prone to making policy U-turns also does not instill confidence in the rakyat.

Let’s not forget that one of the reasons why former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s government lost its two-thirds majority in the 2008 general election was because of his administration’s frequent flip-flops.

Let’s hope that Anwar will be able to stay the course when running the country and not be easily swayed into flip-flops.

Otherwise, not only will we see capital flight from spooked investors, Anwar will pay a dear price just like Pak Lah did. - FMT

Wong Teck Kuan is a FMT reader.

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