Economy: Tell People the Truth
A Kadir Jasin
IN this third installment of the of kopitiam discussion series with several veteran politicians, lawyers and, in this particular instance, a veteran economist, I would like to talk about the economy with particular reference to the upcoming mini budget.
I have been regularly asked to discuss economic issues by those who said they were fed-up with politics and politicians.
But we cannot run away from politics neither can we banish politicians to the mythological Laut Khalzum where the garuda and the jentayu reside. That’s why political stability so important in this time of crisis. We need a capable government and a responsible opposition.
As has been widely reported, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, is going to present a Mini Budget early next month – I believe on March 10.
Mohd Najib told this blogger and bloggers Pahit Manis (Ahmad A Talib) and Rocky’s Bru (Ahiruddin Atan) in a meeting in Putrajaya on Feb. 27 that he would tell the people the truth about the difficult economic situation and seek their understanding and cooperation.
The proposed Mini Budget has come as a surprise to some because a stimulus package was announced only in November during the winding-up of the 2009 Budget debate.
Before this, Minister of Finance 2 (MoF2), Nor Mohamed Yackop had been saying the country was not going to sink into recession. We all know that under Prime Minister and Finance Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Noor Mohamed was effectively the de facto Finance Minister.
We were told through the Press that there was going to be a 3.5-per cent growth last year and there should also be growth this year. So why the sudden change in budgetary strategy and requirements?
We dare not imagine that the MoF2, until Mohd Najib became the Finance Minister last September, had no clue about what was happening to the economy and made those media statements not based on the correct facts.
