[ad_1]
PUTRAJAYA: The Perikatan Nasional government hopes to obtain a new mandate from the people through general elections, says Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
In a live interview with Bernama and local TV stations here yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s presentation of the Budget 2021, a first for the Perikatan government, he said that general elections could be held if issues related to Covid-19 are resolved. and the economic recovery plan.
“If the two problems can be solved, I really hope that we will get a new mandate.
“We have reached out to people and asked them to consider it,” he said.
“If they think that the Perikatan government is good and that it cares about them … they will show their appreciation.”
Commenting on the allegations that Budget 2021 is an “electoral budget”, Muhyiddin said: “When are the elections? I don’t know. Elections or not, we will continue to help the people.”
He emphasized that the first focus of the 2021 Budget is the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore a substantial amount will be channeled to manage the pandemic and extend the necessary support to the vanguard, especially in the form of infrastructure.
“We will do it now and continue to do so until the pandemic is over,” he said, noting that the budget is a continuation of the four stimulus packages worth RM305bil that have been disbursed since Malaysia was hit by the pandemic.
The most recent stimulus package was additional assistance under the RM10bil Prihatin (Kita Prihatin) Supplemental Initiative Package in line with the government’s efforts to drive economic recovery.
The Kita Prihatin package is an extension of the previous economic stimulus packages, namely Prihatin, Prihatin SME PLUS and Penjana, worth a total of 295 billion ringgit, or about 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation, with an additional tax injection totaling RM45bil by the government.
Bank Negara has revised its GDP growth forecast for 2020 to -5.5% to -3.5%, from -2% to 0.5% previously, as the initial assumption was based on a lockdown of just four weeks. instead of seven weeks.
The economy is expected to recover and register growth of 5.5% to 8% in 2021.
“The Budget is part of the 6R plan undertaken by the government, namely Resolution, Resilience, Restart, Recovery, Revitalization and Reform,” he said, adding that the government remained focused on ensuring that the 2021 Budget provided sufficient resources.
Muhyiddin said the increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio, from the legal limit of 55% to 60% now, gave ample scope for the government to embark on an expansive budget.
Maybank Kim Eng’s economic research forecasts a deficit of RM90bil, or 6% of GDP, compared to an estimate of RM95bil, or 6.7% of GDP in 2020.
The 2020 budget is worth RM297bil.
In addition to health, the second area of focus is helping the vulnerable, both individual and micro-businesses, especially those affected by Covid-19.
“The third is to stimulate economic activities to provide job opportunities, commercial activities, as well as to drive growth and recovery in 2021,” said Muhyiddin.
The government would also create incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).
“The global situation is challenging and many countries are competing for investment. So this is something we are paying attention to in the future.
“We want to launch a business infrastructure ecosystem,” Muhyiddin said, adding that incentives to attract FDI to the country will run through 2021 and well into 2022.
During the first six months of 2020, Malaysia recorded investments worth RM64.8 billion in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors.
Of the total approved investments, domestic direct investments (DDI) accounted for 69.8% or RM 45.3 trillion, while FDI contributed the remaining RM 19.5 trillion.
Ranked 12th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2020, Malaysia’s total approved FDI in 2019 amounted to RM82.4 billion.
Muhyiddin also assured that the 2021 Budget will be the most complete Budget that the government has ever presented. – Bernama
[ad_2]
