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PETALING JAYA: A former Secretary General of the Finance Ministry, Sheriff Kassim, has criticized a suggestion that Bank Negara Malaysia should print and distribute money to the public, saying that this is not how the central bank encourages liquidity in the economy.
The sheriff said Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal “must have been thinking about the Aladdin magic carpet” when he suggested that Bank Negara should print more money to hand out to those in the B40 category to increase their purchasing power.
“BNM will not do that because it is not what central banks do,” Sheriff said.
He said central banks would print money to buy debt, in the form of bonds issued by the government or the private sector. By buying debt using printed money, the central bank would be indirectly contributing more liquidity to the economy.
“Central banks around the world like BNM do not give the government money to distribute the notes, as suggested by the deputy minister. No central bank prints money like Santa Claus distributes candy to children during Christmas, except in the banana republics, ”he said.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal had raised the idea during an interview with BFM radio, prompting a backlash from various quarters.
Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong is reported to have urged Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to reprimand Wan Ahmad Fayhsal.
Sim, also a former deputy minister of Youth and Sports, urged Muhyiddin to prevent Wan Ahmad Fayhsal from speaking about the economy.
