- KOTA KINABALU: The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) has hoped that the government will through its Budget 2023, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament next month, focus on boosting foreign direct investment (FDI), besides attracting foreign tourists to boost our tourism industry and economy.
Its President, Tan Sri T.C Goh especially hoped that Budget 2023 will be formulated to rake in more foreign revenues, such as tourists’ money, to stabilise the Ringgit, to stimulate economic growth, and to 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 underscored.
Goh who is also President of The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) cum 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 Budget 2023 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 will continue to provide necessary aids to the underprivileged group, 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 in the midst of 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 the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) raising of 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, spiraling 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 emphasized 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 concluded.
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