FOLLOWING Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob ascension as prime minister, former Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leader A Kadir Jasin urged the former to revive the economy as Malaysia is now lagging behind its neighbour, Indonesia.
“I’m sorry to say that former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri is no match to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Our former Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz is also not in Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s league.
“But I sincerely hope that the new administration will inspire the people’s confidence and be effective, as opposed to the Bersatu led Government in the last 17 months,” he said in a Facebook post.
Elaborating on his views, Kadir said that based Bloomberg reports, the Malaysian bond market is now being overshadowed by the booming Indonesian bond market, as investors are more confident of the rupiah compared to ringgit now.
“In Aug 17, 2018, we can get 3,551 rupiah for one RM1 but as of Aug 1 last year, we can only get 3,540 rupiah for RM1.
“As of Aug 12, this year, we can only get 3,404 rupiah for RM1. That means our currency value has dropped significantly,” he noted.
Political instability is of no help
According to analysis, Kadir said the ringgit bond market was sluggish due to lower fiscal projection. The continuous political instability compounded problems to the already volatile market.
“And our bond market went south as we have incurred more debt compared to Indonesia in the last few years,” Kadir stated.
He reminisced the past, where Indonesia was ridiculed for borrowing too much including from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but now, the tide has turned against Malaysia.
“Last year, the Perikatan Nasional Government ballooned our debt ratio to 60.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP), compared to the 53% recorded in 2019.
“However, Indonesia’s debt ratio is only at 38.5% of its GDP. In my humble view, although our leadership has changed, I don’t think our policies on borrowing will change anytime soon,” Kadir concluded. – Aug 23, 2021
