PUCHONG, Feb 22 – Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim criticised the deputy prime minister’s management of the economy today, accusing Datuk Seri Najib Razak of being too focused on politics at the expense of governing the country in the face of a global economic crisis.
Najib, as Finance Minister, announced an RM7 billion stimulus package last November, but assumptions made then are no longer valid as the country’s exports have plunged more sharply than anticipated because global market demand for the country’s products has plummeted.
The government is expected to announce a stimulus package worth more than RM30 billion next month, according to a report in Sin Chew Daily today.
Anwar is, however, not impressed and says that the mini-budget is too late.
“While the leaders of other countries have acknowledged that serious measures are needed to fight the economic slowdown, Malaysia has not issued such statements because the finance minister is too busy abducting people,” says Anwar, referring to the three former Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Perak state representatives who were incommunicado for several days until they resurfaced in a press conference to declare that they had defected.
“Only on March 10th will he finally take additional steps to tackle the slowdown.”
Anwar said this at the official opening of a new classroom block at the Sin Ming Chinese school in Puchong.
While much of the world has been focussed on the grim global economic outlook, politics has dominated Malaysia in recent months.
BN and PR parties have been embroiled in a constitutional impasse in Perak in recent weeks following the defections and the formation of a new government.
PR leaders have also accused BN parties of trying to engineer more defections in Selangor and Kedah.
The Umno elections and the upcoming by-elections in Kedah, Perak and possibly Selangor is also a major distraction.
Najib is seen as the man behind the attempts to topple PR state governments as part of a bid to boost flagging support for Umno and BN ahead of him taking over as prime minister at the end of March.
The DPM is also keen to use the mini-budget, expected to be announced on March 10, to give BN a political boost ahead of the Umno polls.
At the onset of the global financial turmoil late last year, the government had remained optimistic on the outlook for Malaysia.
However, analysts and economists have been painting a grim picture for Malaysia and this has finally forced the government to revise downwards its economic growth forecasts and come up with supplementary stimulus measures.
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