A Bloomberg poll of 24 economists was equally divided between a retention of 1.75% and a reduction to a new low of 1.5% as Bank Negara s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Wednesday.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s overnight policy rate (OPR) has been at its all-time low at 1.75% since July last year as Bank Negara’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sought to accelerate economic recovery post movement control order (MCO).
Ahead of the MPC s first two-day meeting this year starting on Wednesday, economists are quite divided this time around as Malaysia is placed under a second round of MCO, with both sides of the fence having strong views on why the central bank should maintain or cut the OPR.
In a special address, the Prime Minister announced a special discount of 10% on electricity bills from January to March 2021 to hotel operators nationwide. The Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) assistance package would do little to help hotels in the country that have been struggling to stay afloat.
Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng said the announcement by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin fell short of industry s expectations. Having lost literally all revenue streams, the hotel industry was looking forward to more direct assistance, such as higher wage subsidies, higher electricity and water discounts and even discounts on assessments.
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): The government’s RM15 billion Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) assistance package is seen as a prudent move as it does not involve new funds and will be financed through reallocation of existing funds, according to economists.
UOB Malaysia senior economist Julia Goh told theedgemarkets.com that this move is prudent and prevents slippage of fiscal deficit targets.
“The scheme reiterates that the fiscal support is ongoing and builds on several existing measures to assist the people and businesses,” she added, noting that the Permai scheme also increased allocation for the Ministry of Health that recognises the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
Local hoteliers said the RM15 billion Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) assistance package, which was just announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, had fallen short of expectations as the tourism industry continues to grapple with struggling businesses amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and recently reimposed movement control order (MCO 2.0).
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF) has welcomed the government’s latest stimulus package to beef up its war against Covid-19, but said the Wage Subsidy Programme (WSP) should be extended based on the length of the movement control order.
MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said this was because the ongoing MCO, which commenced on Jan 13 and scheduled to end on Jan 26, might be extended by the government.
“In the event that the MCO is extended for a longer period, then I think it’s only right that the WSP be extended for a further period, ” he said in an interview.