Kota Kinabalu: The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) hopes the Government will, through its Budget 2023 expected to be tabled in Parliament next month, focus on foreign direct investment and attracting foreign tourists.
Its President, Tan Sri TC Goh hoped the Budget would be formulated to rake in more foreign revenue, such as tourists’ money to stabilise the Ringgit and stimulate economic growth as well as create jobs for Malaysians.
“It is important that next year’s national Budget should better focus on expediting our economic recovery, post Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement, Wednesday.
Goh, who is also President of The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) and a member of the Sabah Economic Advisory Council (SEAC), said this during an interview by The Malaysian Insight, in regards to the Budget 2023.
He said since it is a “pre-election budget”, and citing past convention, he believed the Government will again roll out a bagful of goodies for the people, especially those in the low-income category, civil servants and small businesses.
He hoped the Government would continue to provide necessary aid to the underprivileged, especially those in the B40 category, as well as to pay serious attention to issues affecting business operators.
“It is common knowledge that currently many businesses are still recovering from the devastating financial impacts of Covid-19 pandemic and the various categories of movement control orders (MCOs) which ensued,” he said.
He thus hoped the Government could provide attractive tax incentives to both individuals and corporations, so as to assist them to pull through this challenging period of time.
Goh, who is also President of The Federation of Sabah and Labuan Hokkien Associations (FSLHA), also expressed concern over the adverse impacts of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) raising its overnight policy rate (OPR) several times in a row, amid aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
He feared that if BNM is to again raise its OPR within a short period of time, or by next year, amid the weak Ringgit, spiralling inflation rate and increasing domestic and individual debts, it will inevitably further burden the people and businesses who are currently struggling to stay afloat.
He thus hoped the Government would be more cautious and flexible when dealing with this issue.
Besides this, he also emphasised on the importance of political stability towards attracting foreign investors to come and invest in Malaysia.
“Without it (political stability), government policies may change from one government to another, and this certainly would cause the foreign investors to shy away from Malaysia,” he said.
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