KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — The first sitting of the Dewan Rakyat of the Second Term of the 15th Parliament session which began on February 13 ended yesterday with several key issues of the country’s economy receiving attention, including the reintroduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), economic turmoil and the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) debt.
The Unity Government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim insisted that the stance of not reintroducing GST at this time remains.
Anwar said this was due to the people’s income being still low compared to countries that use the GST system such as Singapore and Canada, besides the government being confident that the revenue to be collected and efficient collection enforcement can increase the national income.
“We are not ready yet because the people’s income is still low. So I don’t think we will consider it in six months or one year’s time,” he said.
Meanwhile, the issue of whether the country will experience economic turmoil was also discussed. Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said Malaysia is not expected to experience economic turmoil this year despite facing the challenge of global uncertainty.
He said the technical definition of economic turmoil or recession is when a country experiences economic contraction, which is negative quarterly growth, twice in a row.
“Based on our economic growth of 8.7 per cent last year, the government has forecast Malaysia’s growth to be in the region of 4.5 per cent this year.
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have forecast Malaysia’s economy to grow by 4.4 per cent and 4.0 per cent respectively,” he said.
The Dewan Rakyat was then informed that the government has so far paid 1MDB’s debt amounting to RM43.8 billion with the unpaid balance amounting to RM9.7 billion involving RM5 billion in principal (principal) and RM4.7 billion in interest.
Ahmad Maslan said the payment was made through a shareholders’ advance of RM24.5 billion and a trust account (RM19.3 billion).
He said the government has also obtained RM33.6 billion from the recovery of 1MDB assets and RM8 billion from the settlement with the Abu Dhabi investment firm, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
According to him, the principal debt taken from 1MDB was as much as RM33.6 billion while the interest amounted to RM14.9 billion.
During the sitting, 12 bills were approved, including the Supply Bill 2023 (Budget 2023) which allocated a total of RM388.1 billion, with RM289.1 billion for operating expenses and RM99 billion for development spending, including RM2 billion contingency savings, approved on March 28.
The Supply Bill 2023 was passed in Dewan Negara without amendment with a verbal majority of ayes this evening.
During the closing session of the debate on the royal address for the Finance Ministry in Dewan Rakyat on February 22, Ahmad Maslan said the Fiscal Responsibility Act was scheduled to be presented this year.
The Act will include a number of components including the government debt percentage limit not exceeding 65 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and bearing debt service payments not exceeding 15 per cent of the federal government’s annual budget.
According to the calendar on the Parliament’s official website, the Dewan Rakyat will reconvene from May 22 to June 15.
— Bernama
