KUALA LUMPUR: The economy will be in better shape in the second half of the year and is expected to register a stronger gross domestic product growth of between 4.2 and 4.5 per cent, said Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Dr Michael Yeoh.
“We feel better about the second half than in the first half as people are more optimistic.”
He pointed out that Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent cut of its Overnight Policy Rate should lead to higher loan growth.
“The (big-ticket) items people buy in Malaysia are houses and cars.”
On certain quarters asking for a reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Yeoh said it was not a good idea.
He said businesses had factored in the GST in their operations and consumers had accepted it.
“The GST has to be taken as a given and Malaysians must accept that. We cannot keep changing it,” said Yeoh at a press conference to announce Asli’s 13th Asean Leadership Forum, themed “Asean Community: Enhancing Opportunities and Shared Prosperity”.
The forum will be held in Vientiane on August 6-7.
He also said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi would be presented the Asean Lifetime Achievement Award at the forum for his work in strengthening cooperation among the security forces in Asean.
The Asean Leadership Forum is a high-level annual event bringing together leaders from the government, business, academia and civil society to deliberate on challenges, key trends, strategic issues and opportunities in Asean.
Yeoh also praised the forum’s title sponsor, Axiata Group Bhd, for enhancing digital transformation in the five Asean member countries where it has operations.
Axiata has units in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and Myanmar.
Axiata group chief corporate officer Mohamad Idham Nawawi said last year, the company spent RM4 billion in capital expenditure (capex) in those countries.
On February 17, Axiata announced its capex for this year was RM5.7 billion.