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PETALING JAYA: The government will do everything possible to revive the economy, including borrowing to finance economic boost initiatives in the 2021 budget, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Prime Minister noted that the initiatives were intended to prop up the economy, which he hoped would lead to more vibrant results in the years to come.
“We don’t expect people to depend on the government for help forever, but in difficult situations like this, we have to move forward and help people, even if it means we need to borrow more funds,” he said in an interview on Agenda. Awani.
He said that the government had taken early steps to support small and medium-sized enterprises alongside micro-enterprises to guarantee jobs and income for workers.
Muhyiddin said the government first had to put economic recovery initiatives in place so businesses could continue and keep unemployment rates low.
“At this point, we have to make sure that people keep their jobs. When people have income, they can spend and this, in turn, will stimulate business and business activities.
“If we don’t start somewhere, there will be unemployment and there will be no business activities, which can lead to further losses,” he said.
Muhyiddin also said that he is open to receiving suggestions from the opposition, as he believes that a more inclusive approach would be beneficial to all Malaysians.
He said that in drafting the Budget, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and his team engaged with thousands of groups, including those aligned with the opposition, and received many memoranda that included proposals to be included in the Budget.
“We want to practice inclusion with everyone, we want to be considered customer-friendly, and we are ready to listen to any suggestions.
“If they are good, we will adjust and adopt them,” Muhyiddin said.
He said he would also like to extend the opportunity for members of the opposition to sit at the Economic Action Council and the Covid-19 mitigation meetings, which he chairs, to present their suggestions.
“I would like to hear from them and if they feel that our measures are ineffective, I welcome their proposal to make them more effective.
“It’s not about who gets the credit, but how people can benefit from the views.
“I think this is the approach for the future,” he said, adding that it was not a question of politics, but of mitigating a pandemic and reviving the economy.
Muhyiddin also said the government struggled to decide whether to allow Malaysians to tap into Account 1 of its Employee Provident Fund, but ultimately agreed with great regret.
“It wasn’t because we didn’t want to give in to the suggestion, but rather that we were thinking about its future.
“However, the calls grew louder and many were coming from those who desperately needed the funds, so the government decided to take a specific approach to allow taxpayers to do so,” he said.
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