Now time to focus on the domestic agenda

Government facing 6 crucial state elections

Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional are facing 6 crucial state elections, covering 40 percent of the national voting population within the coming months. Although, there are state issues involved, these state elections will be a de facto-litmus test for Anwar’s ‘unity government’.

Politically, these elections will be crucial and Anwar must make a personal commitment to ensure his coalition wins three states comfortably.

Anwar must lead the charge of his administration towards meeting some very tangible goals over the next 12 months.

With a number of bank collapses within the United States, Europe heading into a recession, and the move away from the US Dollar in international trade, Malaysia must prepare for unstable economic times ahead.

Consequently, the government must prepare the nation for the worst.

Malaysian public debt now stands at RM 1.45 trillion, 81 percent of GDP. This debt blew out during the pandemic, and must be reeled in. Debt reduction requires government savings through improving efficiency within the civil service, developing a broader and more diverse tax base, and eliminating spending leakages.

Europe and the United States are likely to head into a deep recession. Demand must be compensated through expanding trade with China, and other countries within the BRICS block. In addition, domestic demand must be primed through households, rather than through the public sector.

Household demand can be shored up through redistributing income towards the B40. A long-awaited comprehensive welfare safety net is required to push money through to the informal economy to reduce under and unemployment. This is the sector where the incidence of poverty is growing.

This means a radical recalibration of the 12^th Malaysian Plan, which could be undertaken during the mid-term review. Monopolies could be broken up to encourage more competition, which would likely lead to lower prices for consumers. A full package to tackle the rising cost of living must be developed and quickly implemented.

Its necessary to make rural development a major priority. This portfolio is under the deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who should be given this special mission. New economic clusters can be developed of encourage entrepreneurial start-ups, and provide new opportunities for existing SMEs. If the government can make headway here, that may provide them with a ‘popularity dividend’ in the Malay heartlands. This is very much in the ‘unity government’s’ interests.

Finally, Anwar must exercise more control over his cabinet. He needs to mentor the inexperienced. Anwar’s cabinet is the government’s Achilles heel. Anwar needs to spend more time with his ministers.

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