KUALA LUMPUR: Public confidence in the Malaysian economy rose in the second quarter of 2018, when it increased by 9.4 points or a score of 39.3 against 29.9 scores in the first quarter.
The Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) chief executive officer Ahmad Yazid Othman, said although the score is still under a weak category, it still showed some improvement.
He said the increase in confidence was likely due to the political change of the country, which among others pledged zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST) and RON95’s price to remain at RM2.20 per litre since March.
“The people is not only welcoming the federal government’s victory, but more than that they wish for all the promises made in the previous campaign in the last general election (GE) will be fully implemented,” he told a press conference here today.
The three-week study ended on June 25, as a result of the collaboration between MTEM and Kajidata Research Sendirian Berhad.
It involved 1,579 respondents aged 21 and above in 222 parliamentary constituencies.
"The financial sector’s confidence has also diminished as the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) has dropped 9.5 percent over the past two months as well as the recent expositions by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng that the federal government’s debt has now reached one trillion ringgit,” he said.
MTEM is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) concerned with the economic status of the country, especially the Bumiputera.
The survey that had been developed since 2017 will take place every three months. This is a fourth study.
Among others, it aims to measure the level of economic confidence of the community especially the Malay community in terms of spending, jobs and the economy of the country.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Yazid said MTEM hopes the government would pay attention to the household group with less than RM2,000 monthly income, of which the majority of them are the Bumiputera.
He said among the proposals recommended by MTEM is to raise the minimum wage in line with the increase in national inflation rate, to increase the value of Bantuan Sara Hidup Rakyat and help low-income groups to accumulate assets that will be able to grow in value such as real estate.
“The minimum wage should be at the same rate for Malaysians as well as foreign workers. It aims to encourage the employers of this country, to increase productivity while at the same time prevent employers from taking on more foreign workers who are usually paid with low wages."