General election focus must remain on economic fundamentals needed to propel M'sia forward

KUALA LUMPUR: Two Australian-related business councils said that
while full and open debate on issues of personality and incumbency, as
opposed to change, in the fiercely fought 13th general election should
be encouraged, the public should not give way to emotional hysteria.
Malaysia Australia Business Council (MABC) chairman Michael Halpin and his Australian counterpart Australia Malaysia Business Council (AMBC) national president Larry Gould said that attention should also not be diverted from the strong economic fundamentals needed to propel the country forward.
“The
business community at large shares interest in these fundamental
economic factors with the general community, and urges the incoming
government, whoever prevails, to maintain the economic fundamentals.
“The
perception of the business community is that Malaysia has a strong
economy with significant potential for growth,” Halpin said in a
statement.
He urged citizens to consider the statistics: gross
domestic product (GDP) has grown an average 6% over the last three
years, inflation has stayed low, and interest rates have remained
unchanged.
“All of this is an environment of controlled
transformation of government services provision and major structural
change in the economy,” Halpin said.
He added that the Economic Transformation Programme entry point projects had since 2010 increased from 133 to 152, of which 149 have a committed investment of RM211.34bil.
Halpin
said progress, with the implementation of the strategic reform
initiatives, had been steady, including the ongoing liberalisation of
the services sector.
“For a developing nation, this is an
impressive track record in a short span of time, with private investment
tripling in the last three years, and the level of public debt trending
downwards as a percentage of GDP, from 6.6% in 2009 to 4.5% in 2012.
“All this set against the backdrop of global economic gloom and doom,” Halpin noted.
Gould,
meanwhile, said growth in domestic private sector investments, coupled
with continued foreign direct investment, was integral to achieving an
economy's “growth aspirations”.
“Make no mistake, the
international community is watching this election closely, as Malaysia
is considered by many as Asean's crown jewel.
“No doubt, voters
will remember that elections are not personality contests but must be
decided on substance. You only have to look at international experience
to show you personality is not enough,” he said.
“The business community seeks controlled measured change,” Halpin said.
Both MABC and AMBC have expressed their hope that “Malaysians are considering change not just for the sake of it”.
“As
a frequent visitor to Malaysia, I have been in awe of the rapid pace of
the transformation of the Malaysian economy in the last three years.
All of the major economic centres are alive with activity, and Malaysia
seems to be weathering the global downturn well,” Gould said.