KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians will be facing greater food security issues as food items, even eating out, will be more expensive, FSMOne Malaysia.
FSMOne research manager Jason Wong said food supplies could be tighter than before, which might lead to a limited quantity being sold to consumers.
"Besides food security, most Malaysians are challenged with job security in terms of disposable income, as basic items are getting more expensive and possibly overall wholesale, retail, and trade sales will drop as an effect of this.
"Malaysians may have no choice but to start cutting off expenses and tightening their budget to match their monthly income. What does this mean to all Malaysians? Are we expecting a recession in the near future?
"We are living in the bubble of protection from the government today, with the lifting of fuel subsidies, like a balloon, as the air pressure increases internally, it's only a matter of time, the rubber material gives way and pops," he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, he said FSMOne expected Bank Negara Malaysia to make three more 25 basis points (bps) hikes to the interest rate during its remaining Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings this year.
Wong said the central bank's move to raise its Overnight Policy Rate by 25bps to 2.00 per cent in May was commendable as it was being proactive to stave off rising inflation in the country.
"At the same time, we believe this move will cushion some of the negative impacts on the ringgit caused by the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) recent aggressive interest rate hikes.
"We believe the central bank does not wish to make a mistake like Fed did, by hiking rates too slowly and letting inflation spiral out of control. Hence, Bank Negara stays abreast on this matter," he added.