Members of Parliament (MPs) in Malaysia recently outlined several proposals to strengthen the country’s economy in the face of retaliatory tariffs from the US and global economic uncertainty.
Paya Besar MP Datuk Indera Mohd Shahar Abdullah urged the government to expedite the announcement of the new gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for 2025 as preparations for the country and economic sectors to adapt to the country’s economic situation would need to be taken.
“I am worried that if we delay this announcement, we will also delay the announcement of the 13th Malaysia Plan this year,” he said during a parliamentary debate session.
“My question is, what is the quicker strategy for the government to take? Will Malaysia take steps in a mitigating manner, change or adapt or just accept the tariff levels that will be imposed later?” he questioned.
Meanwhile, Lim Guan Eng (Bagan) proposed that Bank Negara Malaysia’s overnight policy rate (OPR) be lowered by one percentage point to 2% from the current 3%.
“Given that inflation is increasingly under control, the main target should be focused on driving economic growth,” he added.
Lim also suggested that business opportunities and access to local industries be opened by requiring all foreign and local investors to purchase at least 50% of local products.
“Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have complained that foreign contractors who win government and private bidding only buy goods from their home countries, hence local SMEs do not obtain any business orders.
“Another important matter is to protect local traders form trade diversion, such as dumping of products by countries that are blocked form entering the US market, like China,” he added.
Meanwhile, Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin asked the government to conduct a study so that the country can reduce imported food and agricultural products.
“So, I would like to remind the government that, if possible, we should look at this as an important sector for the future of food security. That is why we need to consider helping farmers from now on because the Trump administration is for four years and this means that (there is a potential) tariffs for these four years may have (an impact on) food security in our country,” he continued.
Govt to Boost SJPP Guarantee Schemes to Assist SME Exporters
At the same time, the government agreed to raise the funds under the Business Financing Guarantee Scheme (SJPP) by RM1 billion to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are affected by the US tariffs to secure loans from commercial banks.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that to help SME entrepreneurs, the government has also approved an additional sum of RM500 million for soft loan facilities offered through development financial institutions.
“The government will continue to monitor the latest developments and is prepared to provide targeted assistance to SMEs that are directly affected. The US reciprocal tariff has a negative impact on global supply chains and trade – especially for SMEs – and is disruptive to ASEAN economic stability,” he explained.
Anwar also noted that amid the global economic volatility, the country needs to give greater focus on generating domestic economic activities, mainly on development projects and direct investments.
“In this regard, the government will focus on accelerating the implementation of approved projects, especially flood mitigation projects, repair of dilapidated schools and construction of clinics.
“To expedite implementation, the government will streamline procurement policies and procedures, with special focus given to those involving small contractors in G1-G4 categories,” he added.
Anwar mentioned that the government has agreed to increase the limit for procurement by quotation from RM1 million to RM3 as well as the limit for procurement through balloting from RM100,000 to RM200,000, mainly to speed up maintenance and repair works for dilapidated schools and clinics, among others.
In efforts to accelerate the pre-implementation process of projects, Anwar also highlighted that the capacity of technical agencies will be expanded with the introduction of new approaches like allowing the implementation of federal government projects to proceed on state government land, with special emphasis given to realising approved investments.
Source: https://sme.asia/malaysian-mps-highlighted-areas-of-focus-to-strengthen-economy/