Sabah lauds strategies, measures
Published on: Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The State Government has welcomed the strategies and measures announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to strengthen the nation's economic resilience through the National Budget revision on Tuesday.Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (pic) said it was important to note the assurance given by the Federal Government that development expenditure would not be affected such as the Pan Borneo Highway project."This clearly shows that the Government remained sensitive to the needs and interest of the people in spite of the economic challenges," he said here.
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Musa said that even though there was some reduction in the operation expenditure, it was also emphasising on efficient and prudent management.He remained optimistic that there was still room and opportunities to ensure a vibrant economy, including through the tourism industry with the steps to waive the visa charges to Chinese tourists as well as reduction of levy on foreign workers."We are confident that these measures will be able to stimulate economic growth in the tourism and construction sectors," he said.The State Government was confident that the Federal Government had taken proactive strategies to ensure sustainable growth and at the same time ensuring the people's prosperity and welfare are being taken care off, particularly those affected by the recent flood.
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Meanwhile, Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang said the Prime Minister had cleared two common misconceptions in relation to the nation's finance and economy when announcing the revision of the National 2015 Budget along with the announcement on the cushioning measures to be taken in view of the drastic drop in crude oil price and weakening of the ringgit."Contrary to what may be commonly perceived, Malaysia is not in crisis like what happened in 1998 and 2009. In view of the unforeseeable drop of more than 50 per cent of the oil price in the last three months which impacts the government revenue, the budget must be adjusted accordingly," he said.
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Teo, who is also president of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said Malaysia was also commonly perceived as a net oil exporter. "However, as explained by the Prime Minister, due to the fact that the value of petroleum products we import is higher than the value of crude oil we export, Malaysia is actually a net oil importer. "If the value of our currency is not weakened, it will be cheaper for us to import petroleum products," he said.LDP welcomed the strategies and measures announced by the Prime Minister saying they are pragmatic in dealing with the challenges in view of the changing global economy.Among others, there will be cuts in operating expenditure, deferment of national service programme, rescheduling of the acquisition of non-critical assets, but there will be no compromise in the development budget. Plans for major infrastructure projects including the Pan Borneo Highway remain intact and the nation's fiscal consolidation shall also continue as planned, he said."Despite the expected set back in government revenue, rebuilding of damaged infrastructures in the flood affected areas will be prioritised. In addition to the initial funding of RM800 million, an allocation of RM893 million is to be spent for such purpose. This shows that the Government cares for the people," he said.Nonetheless, Teo said there are always two sides to a coin. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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