KUALA LUMPUR: The government should stop blaming past governments for its challenges in managing the economy, including citing the 1MDB issue for the slide in the ringgit, a former deputy minister said today.
Dr Ong Kian Ming, former International Trade and Industry deputy minister said playing the blame game would only make the unity government seem ineffective in the eyes of the public and businesses which were faced with higher costs of living and doing business.
The DAP man also said such narratives distract from positive government policies including the National Energy Transition Roadmap and the New Industrial Masterplan 2030.
In a statement on his proposals on how the government could help improve the livelihoods of the people, Ong said the government should ensure more policy consistency so that households and businesses could better plan finances including for the removal of subsidies.
"Till now, we don't have any concrete timelines on when these withdrawals are going to take place.
"More importantly, what is the amount of targeted subsidies that will replace these targeted subsidies, and who will be eligible for them."
He also suggested the government announce plans to roll out initiatives under Budget 2024, saying that prolonging these announcements would only affect public confidence.
"Announce and roll out initiatives related to important economic catalysts that will have significant multiplier effects,"
He said this included the new Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) categories, MRT3 Line 3 project, and initiatives related to the Special Economic Zone in Johor.
"These announcements will not only get the market excited but they will translate into quickly felt economic benefits on the ground."
Ong said the government also needs to coordinate better in communicating plans to the public to avoid "shooting itself in the foot" citing the example of the Malaysia Madani White Rice initiative.
He was referring to the confusion sparked by Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Faisal's announcement on a single category of white rice, called Malaysia Madani White Rice priced at RM30 for a 10kg bag.
However, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu later said no such plan had been finalised, contradicting the National Action Council for Cost of Living (NACCOL) food cluster task force's announcement.
"This kind of amateurism in public policy announcements only further contributes to the narrative that this unity government is not competent in the management of the economy.
"It's not too late to save the economic narrative for this unity government and for it to prove to the person on the street that their livelihood will be better under the Madani government. But time is slowly but surely running out."