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Sunday, March 29, 2020

The RM250 billion stimulus package


Some (economists) called the RM250 billion stimulus package brilliant, some (business sector) called it disappointing. The former (economists) said there'll be better cash flow in the market, whilst business (eg. Malaysian Employers Federation - MEF - and SME) said millions will lose their jobs.



MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan 

Most economists are of the view that the government is right in supporting low-income households to survive in this very trying times, especially those facing financial constraints, retrenchments or have to be on unpaid leave.

Meanwhile Pakatan Harapan (minus those who left, wakakaka) said that only 10% of the stimulus package, ie. only RM25 billion out of the RM250 billion “Prihatin” package, would be injected directly into the economy, while the rest comes in the form of loan moratoriums, tax waiver, and guarantees.



Anwar has supported initiatives in the Prihatin package that helps the people, especially those in the B40 income group, but wants it debated in parliament

But Wahid Omar, a banker but who had also served as a then Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Economic Planning under the previous BN government, pointed out that the Harapan critics also employed similar methods when they were the government.

He said that Mahathir in his February stimulus of RM20 billion (formulated by Lim GE as boasted by my visitor TS, wakakaka), injected as direct cash only RM3.5 billion, far far less than what the Muhyiddin government proposes to do.

Incidentally, regarding Harapan's cries of "Where the eff is the money coming from", Mahathir had in February said (as reported by The Edge Markets):

“Malaysia has a lot of savings. Malaysia has almost RM2 trillion of savings, we will make use of some of these savings. Some with Tabung Haji, Bank Negara, KWAP, KWSP... All of them hold big reserves. And in the case of KWSP, it is almost RM1 trillion.”

Mucho peso, si amigo? Wakakaka.


Mahathir is pro business and less sympathetic with labour

the Emperor loves his nobles and knights rather than the serfs, wakakaka

His package would favour the business sector and eff the workers


It's a short term (tactical) stimulus package designed as a 'survival package' for the rakyat during the lockdown and also for the Perikatan Nasional in GE15, wakakaka. The long term plan (strategy) comes later and eff that in the meantime, wakakaka again.

But yes, not everybody is happy as each of us, private individual or businessman, has our own respective interests and gains (or loss). I am not the best person to talk about economics so I am quite 'neutral' on it as I was on Mahathir's.

But as a matey said: "The point is, those who are opposed to the government - such as the Pakatan Harapan people today - will always find fault and criticise the government and its policies, and whether only 100 Malaysians die or 100,000 Malaysians die in the current pandemic. Nothing is perfect. Everything is wrong. To these people, half a glass of water is always half empty, never half full. It is the nature of the beast."


I added t'was 'likewise' when Pakatan Harapan was the government and BN and PAS (not yet Perikatan Nasional) were in the opposition, wakakaka.

But that's an opposition's job, the nature of the beast, to "criticise, object, oppose, challenge, dispute, disparage, 'podah'-ise" each and every government's act, policy, programme, etc.

As my matey said of the opposition always criticising the ruling government's policies and actions: "Nothing is perfect. Everything is wrong. To these people, half a glass of water is always half empty, never half full".

Indeed, having an adversarial opposition is the very essence of political democracy in the Westminster system - the so-called much required 'check & balance'. It reflects the "finest traditions" (wakakaka) of the British-initiated political system, where it would be the rare day, when snowflakes would fall gently in Hell and tulips bloom gloriously there, if the opposition were to agree with, let alone praise, the ruling government in its policies. 

Wakakaka.




11 comments:

  1. There will be two tsunamis. Health is definitely one and it is upon us. The other will be the economic one.

    Yes the worst is yet to come. Not only for Malaysia but for every country on earth. And when that happens it will be "everyone for himself", or in other words...

    Stuff EU, Go It Alone Brexit,
    Make America Great Again,
    USA-China Trade War,
    NAFTA, TPP dead and buried
    Viet Nam stops exporting rice,
    Or increases its price to balance their budget
    Saudi Arabia crashes price of oil to grow market share
    etc

    replicated all over the world at the same time. Restrict free travel, re-negotiate trade deals, return of protectionism etc etc.

    Trump's inward looking stance was ahead of his time, where's the Mexican Wall?

    Let's see if One Belt One Road will survive this.....or China starts to call back its loans....

    Malaysia's 250 billion rescue package is only 10% (25B) actual cash injection by the PN government.

    The rest is bank loan moratorium (175B which is a delay in installment with interest, not loan forgiveness) and EPF money (50B, which is OUR money).

    The 175B loan moratorium is actually a bank bailout by the government. Govt guarantee to back the banks should the NPLs skyrocket, which will happen.

    Why does the government see it necessary to give cash aid to civil servants or pensioners? Their jobs are guaranteed and so are their pension money. I can understand for the health care workers and security folks but why does say a teacher need special cash aid while obeying the MCO? They still get full salary while the restaurant hand and insurance agent have lost their jobs.

    The fact that there are 450,000 teachers or nearly a million voters if you count their spouses may be a clue.

    It is the private sector worker, retirees, those living on their savings, the SMEs, the daily wage earners etc that need financial aid. But they get only a small amount.

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  2. QUOTE
    Indeed, having an adversarial opposition is the very essence of political democracy in the Westminster system - the so-called much required 'check & balance'.
    UNQUOTE

    So convene Parliament now to legitimise the Hail Mary rescue package.

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  3. If businesses collapsed or individuals bankrupted because of Covid-19 and the plunge in oil prices, please accept it as devinely inspired.

    ("When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
    Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
    And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
    Whispers words of wisdom, let it be")

    The government should just proceed with Lord Keynes' economic theories/policies. The partial lockdown, stimulus packages for B40/M40 and for the SMEs are the way to go.

    If the capitalists and corporates are sinking what's the issue? Just cap your wealth to say RM100,000,000-00, and the rest of it should go to your CSR and social principles, at the very least give one good free meal a day, blanket and paracetemol to the people who are desperate, until the country recovers.

    ("The Great Depression of 1929 devastated the U.S. economy. Half of all banks failed. Unemployment rose to 25% and homelessness increased. Housing prices plummeted 30%, international trade collapsed by 65%, and prices fell 10% per year. It took 25 years for the stock market to recover".)

    But it was not the end of the American dream, was it?

    Excuse me Sir: A RM250 billion parliamentary debate? What the heck!

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    Replies
    1. keynes way is an opium, as long as one is willing to burden the next generation, it works fine, since in the long term we all dead, due to wuhan virus wakaka.

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    2. Another fart from a know-nothing loud mouth to angkat his dangdut pal!

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    3. maybe u r right bec most of us yet to read keynes with chinese characteristic or hayek with chinese characteristic wakaka.

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  4. KT still attacking Toonsie (out of dislike, not HATRED ha ha ha) but still silent on Jibby....who owes untold billions in unpaid taxes...and did not return 30 billion more in GST refunds to thousands of SMEs.....

    Note: Jibby is in government now, not Toonsie.

    If this constant attack on Toonsie is "dislike" I wonder what HATRED looks like.....I believe the only thing KT did when he HATED someone was to run away to Oz.

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  5. Finally we have a contribution from PAS. But I can answer the question now.

    Yes you will find COV19 virus in human crap, together with a hundred other types of bacteria and virus, especially the sewers below the Seri Petaling tabligh.

    QUOTE
    Environment Ministry to study possibility of Covid-19 spreading through sewers
    28 MAR 2020

    Environment Ministry to study possibility of Covid-19 spreading through sewers

    KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Environment will conduct a comprehensive study of the risk of Covid-19 to determine whether the virus can spread through the sewerage system.

    Its minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, in a statement today said the ministry is expected to work on the study with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands next week.

    He said the study needed to be done immediately as a recent scientific report by the National Institute of Public Health and Environment in the Netherlands showed that the genetic material of the Covid-19 virus was detected in the sewerage system in the Netherlands.

    The report said this material came from the stool of patients infected with Covid-19.

    “The ministry is aware of the scientific developments on the Covid-19 pandemic, so the ministry through the National Water Services Commission, National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia and the Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd will conduct a detailed study to find out if the genetic material of the Covid-19 virus can live and reproduce in the public sewerage system.

    “This study will also determine if sewage samples in the sewerage system can be indicative of the presence of Covid-19 patients in a particular area,“ he said.
    UNQUOTE

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  6. dap only talk sense when they r in opposition, for eg, didnt lge the previous fm wakaka also reduce epf contribution as form of stimulus? so opposition role suit dap better, or else their stupidity is bare for all to see.

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  7. How do you explain why civil servants who are NOT taking a pay cut/loss or losing their jobs gets the SAME PAY OUT as those who have lost incomes and jobs? Even more so civil servants (those not on the front line) get a 500 BONUS too! For what? For staying at home!

    And what about the package for SME ? They are the country's engine of growth and they provide jobs for millions and yet why are they not given priority ? If meaningful assistance is not given to this very critical sector, many companies would fold up and this will cause mass unemployment.

    There are also other areas which the funds have been wrongly and wastefully allocated but I will not go into this now. Let's just tackle the above two areas for now.

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    Replies
    1. Simple answer is civil service is a huge vote bank.

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