Alternative Views Reduce The Politics Up The Governance

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However, the consequences for the economy and capital market are far bigger. The request casts fears and doubts on the sanctity of government contracts.
(The Edge Markets) – Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary would allocate RM60 million to poor paddy farmers.
However, the sum, to be paid over two years, will not leave a dent in the wealth of the tycoon, whose net worth based on his interest in listed companies was RM3.5 billion as at the end of last year.
Syed Mokhtar, who has an empire covering ports and power plants to food and automobile businesses, forks out more than RM60 million in interest servicing alone for his entire conglomerate. Having to pay RM10 million this year and RM50 million next year to paddy farmers is not a stretch for the low-profile businessman.
In return for the RM60 million, Syed Mokhtar earns goodwill from the government led by Anwar, who himself scores brownie points with the farmers.
However, the consequences for the economy and capital market are far bigger. The request casts fears and doubts on the sanctity of government contracts.
If Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), which is owned by Syed Mokhtar, had decided to share a bigger portion of its profits with the paddy farmers, the announcement should have come from the company itself. It would be viewed as minimal interference from the government.
At the same press conference, Anwar also disclosed that there were irregularities in the RM600 billion spending of the previous government in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will be calling up former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and current trade and industry minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who was finance minister during the period.
During the pandemic, the government’s fiscal package came up to RM530 billion. It included withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), a moratorium on loans and direct cash assistance to poor families that came up to RM83 billion.
There were no less than eight stimulus packages announced between March 2020 and June 2021 that were aimed at alleviating the hardship of the people and businesses going through during the economic downturn. The fiscal stimulus of RM530 billion is the largest in Malaysia’s history.
There could have been some leakages. But it certainly cannot be to the tune of hundreds of billions.
The Malaysian public sector does not have that kind of money. The country’s international reserves are only RM484 billion.
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