Fiscal Policy In Malaysia Covid 19

Kuala lumpur aug 18.

Fiscal policy in malaysia covid 19. The covid 19 pandemic dubbed the worst crisis since the great depression in the 1930s warrants an exit clause in malaysia s fiscal policy said minister of finance tengku datuk seri zafrul aziz this exit clause he said will enable the government to implement countercyclical measures against external shocks such as unstable commodity prices and capital markets global. Kuala lumpur march 30 malaysia expects its fiscal deficit to widen to 4 per cent of gross domestic product this year because of the us 58 billion rm251 2 billion stimulus measures announced to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy the country s finance minister. The country was planning to reopen to foreign tourists from mid august but these plans have been postponed due to the resurgence of covid 19 cases. South east asia s third largest economy is already struggling to.

Following this economists generally agree that economic policy should focus mainly on bolstering public health efforts in handling the pandemic whilst ensuring the welfare of the rakyat and businesses. A similar stimulus package called the package of new strategies was tabled by the federal government back in 2003 and this involved an. Unlike the global financial crisis in 2008 and the asian financial crisis in 1997 malaysia s covid 19 crisis is a public health crisis first and an economic crisis second. Central bank has lowered its overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 2 5 in early march the second reduction to its benchmark rate this year.

The national state of emergency ended in june with more businesses allowed to reopen. On march 19 the rm20 billion economic stimulus package pre 2020 was launched to help industries that were directly hit by the first wave of the covid 19 outbreak such as hotels and transport companies. In terms of fiscal policy the government has announced a series of economic stimulus packages to help individuals and companies affected by the covid 19 crisis. Kuala lumpur april 22 the world bank has cautioned the malaysian government about its inability to respond effectively should the covid 19 fallout drag on citing putrajaya s limited fiscal space for extended intervention.