Effective Gdp Growth Is 1 9 Cut The Opr Now

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The World Bank says our GDP will grow only 3.9% this year. Malaysia's inflation rate is said to be 2.0% (if you are fool enough to believe this number).  "The annual inflation rate in Malaysia eased to 2% in July 2023". How many of you believe this? Please ask your wife who does the shopping at the markets.
But you must deduct the inflation rate to get the real GDP growth. So effective GDP growth is 3.9% - 2.0% = 1.9%. 
Ok folks, so 3.9% or 1.9% etc what does this really mean? I call this the 'gomen did nothing' growth rate. You do not need a gomen, you do not need a Cabinet full of Ministers, you do not need the Civil Service to generate 3.9% or 1.9% GDP growth.As long as there is sunshine from the sky, as long as it rains, so long as our super fertile soil makes plants grow and as long as our people wake up in the morning and go to work there will be 3% to 5% growth in the economy. This is like almost a natural rate of growth. Without the need for any gomen.And if all the useless monopolies, oligopolies, licenses, restriction, race based quotas and economic strangulation policies are abolished let me assure you we can hit high single digit or even double digit growth.Before I forget let me say how we can create hundreds of thousands of high paying, high tech jobs from JUST ONE ECONOMIC SECTOR ALONE. Free the banking and finance sector. I do not wish to use the world liberalise. That is the wrong word for Malaysia.In Malaysia vast sectors of our economy like banking and private health care are under the strangle hold of suicidal economic policy making. (Rice, automobiles as well). Yes the word is suicidal. You cannot "liberalise" suicidal policies. You can only rescue them or save them from suicide.So please free the banking and finance sector from the present suicidal banking policy. Islamic banking is fake but you can keep it if you want to fool yourselves. (Sajalah kau orang nak syok sendiri). But free the banking and finance sector from the quotas and from the gomen controlled oligopolies. There is no such thing as international banking in Malaysia. The clowns in gomen will not even understand what is international banking. Let me make it super simple - international banking is "English". No English no international banking.All these mean jobs - high quality, well paying jobs. We can create hundreds of thousands of more jobs if we just free up the banking and finance sector and make Malaysia a financial hub in Asia. Despite all their bullshit hype Malaysia could not become an Islamic banking hub even under their Islamic coconut shell or "tempurung".Oops I am digressing again.  Now we have a new war in the Middle East. This is a localised war but oil prices have gone up slightly. The Ayatollahs in Iran are bunching up their black skirts to wade into the cesspool again. It is bound to cause some stink. The British and the Americans and some NATO goons are determined to create tension and violence in Europe (they are also targeting the Balkans again). As well as with China in Asia. War is bad for business. Times are uncertain.That 3.9% GDP growth forecast by the World Bank is not good. In May 2023 Bank Negara increased the OPR rate by 0.25% to 3.0% for no good reason. No one knows until today why Bank Negara raised the OPR. Some say to help strengthen the Ringgit. Err to the "new" governor of Bank Negara so did you manage to strengthen the Ringgit with the higher OPR rate? The Ringgit is now at RM4.72 to the US Dollar. In May 2023 the Ringgit WAS BELOW RM4.50 TO THE US DOLLAR!! So it is worse than before.
In May 2023 BNM raised the OPR by 0.25% to 3.0%. An almost 10% increment! My monthly bank instalment also jumped. 
The economy is suffering. There are uncertainties on the horizon. Please cut the OPR back to 2.75% asap.  You dont cut we are going to remember.The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
By Syed Akbar Ali 

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