Let’s talk about Malaysia’s real economic problems, says Pua

Written by Chua Sue-Ann, The Edge

Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament (MP) Tony Pua today urged the Dewan Rakyat to debate the country’s “real” economic state along with the issues acknowledged in Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah’s recent speech.

Pua was referring to Ahmad Husni’s speech at the National Economic Outlook Conference organised by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) on Dec 1 where the minister offered a frank assessment of the stumbling blocks to Malaysia’s economic progress.

“We would like to call upon the minister to move a ministerial statement on the country’s real state of the economy and to allow for debate in parliament so that both sides of the House can unite for once on the urgent wide-ranging reforms needed to restart the country’s engine of economic growth,” Pua told a press conference in parliament today.

Ahmad Husni’s speech would be a “sheer waste of time and effort” if the words were not translated into concrete action, Pua said.

Pua, who is DAP’s national publicity secretary, also urged ministers to discard the “knee jerk denial syndrome” and stop singing “unbelievable and unrealistic” praises of Malaysia’s economy when responding to questions from MPs.

This was important to ensure an honest assessment of the economic situation, which is critical in adopting the right measures to heal the “malaise” in Malaysia’s economy, Pua said.

“(Ahmad Husni’s speech) must have shaken the audience to the core, not because the content of his speech had anything new or shocking, but because it was the first time a finance minister had stated the obvious with regards to the country’s economy,” Pua added.

According to AFP’s report on the speech, which Pua quoted in his press conference, Ahmad Husni had called for “urgent” and “wide-ranging reforms” to address Malaysia’s economic stagnation and to ensure competitiveness in the fast-changing global economic environment.

“Our economy has been stagnating in the last decade. We have lost our competitive edge to remain as the leader of the pack in many sectors of the economy. Our private investment has been steadily in decline,” AFP quoted Ahmad Husni as saying.

Ahmad Husni, who is Tambun MP, also reportedly called for wide-ranging measures, which included “gradual dismantling of our open-ended protection of specific sectors”, greater emphasis on meritocracy and equal opportunity to participate in the economy.

“The long-term success of the nation’s economy must take precedence over the short-term interests of a few protected groups,” Ahmad Husni also said.

At the same press conference, Klang MP Charles Santiago cast Ahmad Husni’s speech as a “wake-up call” but questioned whether subsequent proactive action would be taken.