KUALA LUMPUR: It is still early to gauge whether the current unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has provided more stability in terms of the economic environment of the country, said rating agency Moody's.
Assistant vice president and analyst of sovereign risk group Nishad Majmudar said it was too early to say whether the political noise has diminished or increased under the current unity government, given that the general election (GE15) just took place last November.
"Broadly speaking, given the parameters around the unity government and the fact that they have proposed a set of fiscal reforms over the course of this year, those are some of the signals that we would look to as far as their potential to reduce some of the political noise.
"From our perspective, we will look at the probability of the momentum behind some of the reforms like the Fiscal Responsibility Act, for example, that was high on the list in the current government's kind of low-hanging fruit to implement," he said during the Moody's virtual media roundtable titled "Inside ASEAN: Malaysia" today.
With the state elections coming up, Nishad said it would be interesting to see to what extent the elections could benefit the unity government in terms of possible additional political capital to pursue some of those fiscal reforms.
He said the rating agency has acknowledged the resilience of Malaysia's key economic policy institutions, particularly given the political uncertainties and political noise since GE14, where institutions like Bank Negara Malaysia and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) have been able to deliver on their policy objectives over the past few years despite the political noise.
"It is important to note that we currently assess that the political noise of the last several years has not affected the ability of key institutions like BNM and MOF to execute their mandates.
"However, we do assess that the noise has inhibited the passage of some of the deeper reforms in fiscal initiatives that the current government and previous governments have proposed and that would support the credit profile in an upward direction," Nishad said.
Looking ahead, he noted that the country still remains in a somewhat uncertain political and policy environment with the potential for gridlock.
"On top of that, we do think there are high demands from the public for continued fiscal support for the economy, given that the recovery has not fallen equally on all segments of society and income groups. Therefore, we do think there are downside risks.
"It is not a baseline scenario, but there are downside risks to our assessment of policy effectiveness, should the political environment inhibit some of the upcoming reforms that have been proposed in previous and current governments as well," Nishad said.
These, he said, would include some of the key reforms that would be the expansion of the revenue base in various forms, such as the reintroduction of the goods and services tax (GST) or sales and services tax (SST) expansion, subsidy rationalisation, as well as a reversion to some of the pre-COVID fiscal rules like the statutory debt ceiling of 55 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
"Finally, key reforms also include legislation that has been proposed and potentially tabled in Parliament this year but has yet to come to fruition such as the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Government Procurement Act," he added.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama
Tue May 16 2023
It is still early to gauge whether the current unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has provided more stability in terms of the economic environment of the country, said rating agency Moody's. File pic by BERNAMA
Pelarian tiba di Syria selepas serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan - UNHCR
Lebih 200,000 warga Syria dan Lubnan telah tiba di Syria dari Lubnan sejak serangan Israel bermula 23 September lalu.
[LAPOR LANGSUNG] Lebih 2,000 terkorban di Lubnan akibat serangan Israel
Jumlah mangsa yang maut itu termasuk 261 wanita dan 127 kanak-kanak.
Lebih 2,000 terkorban di Lubnan akibat serangan Israel
Laporan Al Jazeera menyebut, jumlah mangsa yang maut itu termasuk 261 wanita dan 127 kanak-kanak.
AWANI Pagi: Pendayaupayaan Pembangunan Sosio Ekonomi Bagi Memacu Wilayah Persekutuan
Ikuti temu bual bersama Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Wilayah Persekutuan), Dr Zaliha Mustafa di #AWANIPagi jam 7.30 pagi di saluran 501 Astro AWANI.
Pentagon, Jabatan Negara AS beri amaran jenayah perang Israel
Pegawai-pegawai tersebut telah memberi amaran peningkatan jumlah kematian di Gaza mungkin melanggar undang-undang antarabangsa.
200,000 pelarian tiba di Syria selepas serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan - UNHCR
Lebih 200,000 warga Syria dan Lubnan telah tiba di Syria dari Lubnan sejak serangan Israel bermula pada 23 Sept.
Belanjawan 2025: Kesalinghubungan internet di sekolah, kampus jadi keutamaan - Fahmi
Kementerian Komunikasi akan memberikan keutamaan dengan meneruskan usaha untuk meningkatkan dan memantapkan lagi prasarana kesalinghubungan melibatkan isu Internet, dalam Belanjawan 2025 yang akan dibentangkan pada 18 Okt ini.
Setahun solidariti, sokongan global untuk Palestin di tengah-tengah genosid berterusan Israel
Ribuan manusia di seluruh dunia turun ke jalanan untuk menyuarakan sokongan kepada Palestin dan menuntut keadilan.
Indonesia kecewakan China, raih kejuaraan badminton berpasukan campuran remaja dunia
Indonesia menewaskan China untuk muncul Juara Badminton Berpasukan Campuran Remaja Dunia dengan kemenangan 110-103 (mata terkumpul).
Bomba selamatkan tiga subkontrakor terkandas di kren pengangkat
Ketiga-tiga mangsa lelaki itu masing-masing berusia 24, 26 dan 32 tahun terkandas dengan anggaran ketinggian dua tingkat.
Malaysia, Singapore to resume discussions on high-speed rail project soon - Azmin
Azmin said, the discussions would encompass some of the proposed changes in the commercial and technical aspects of the project.
Extend the MCO until after Aidilfitri - AMM
The AMM understood the people's desire to spend time with relatives during the Raya holidays but in the face of this outbreak, social distancing had to continue until a new vaccine was discovered.
Industri pertahanan bakal pacu ekonomi negara - Mohamad Sabu
Kertas Putih Pertahanan dijangka dibentangkan di Dewan Rakyat pada November atau awal Disember ini selepas mendapat persetujuan Kabinet.
Do postponements cause delays in the Courts?
Cases may often be postponed or otherwise delayed for various reasons. The truth of the matter is that these delays may be necessary due to the Rule of law and due process.
Tiada perubahan drastik dijangka dari PRU Thailand - Penganalisis
Perjalanan proses itu hanyalah bagi memberi lebih legitimasi kepada kerajaan sedia ada yang dikuasai junta tentera ketika ini.
[OPINION] Opportunity from chaos
The biggest clandestine threat is the evaporation of the middle class across the developed world.
Here are the three considerations we had when we did the Budget - Tony Pua
Damansara MP Tony Pua explained the three major considerations on what went into the development and execution of Budget 2019.
'Kalau nak berkumpul, jangan la dalam bangunan' - Dr Maszlee
Bantahan mereka ini adalah susulan daripada pelantikan Dr Maszlee sebagai Presiden Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM).
Climate change in Malaysia and what it means for us
The worlds climate is changing for the worse, and humans are responsible for that. Lets dive into a touch of science to make sense of this.
Major quake cuts communications, halts oil and gas operations in Papua New Guinea
At least one company began evacuating non-essential personnel after a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea's energy-rich interior on Monday.