KUCHING: In view of inflation and the decline of the Malaysian ringgit (RM) to a 24-year low against the United States dollar (USD), Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen said that a change of government is needed before the country crumbles.
He said that the country’s dire financial situation is a reflection of the poor financial management of the current federal government, on top of the long-term effect past administration before Pakatan Harapan.
“When we (PH) came into power, we tried to reform the system by introducing all the accountable financing practices and cutting down some allocations to maintain the balance of the country’s account.
“Those measures may be unpopular during that time, but it was done with a view to ensure that the government’s coffers stay balanced and make sure the financial strength of the country remains.
“When the PH administration collapsed, all of the reforms that we (PH) have implemented were dismantled and it was back to business as usual from BN,” he said this to the reporters during a press conference at the DAP headquarters here today.
Chong said while the financial crisis will not be solved immediately with the change of government, but with PH at the helm, they can stop the crisis from getting worse, but it will take time.
“The present federal government in power either has no idea how to manage the country or they are just focused to implement populist policies whereby they keep spending and spending which contributes to the value of our RM to depreciate.
He said that if the outcome of the upcoming general election remains the same where UMNO and their cohorts are in power, the country will go south.
“At least one or two terms are needed,” he told the reporters when asked how long it would need for our financial situation to recover.
He said the country’s debt is more than RM1 trillion at the moment and in order to stop this from getting worse, cut downs on extravagant spending are required along with stopping corruptions.
“With the government spending like nobody’s business, the Bank Negara’s increasing rates would not help in curbing the inflation.
He added that all the wage earners, especially from private sectors, are suffering and will continue to suffer.
“Interest rate increasing will only affect your housing loans. For my personal housing loan, I am already paying extra,” he said.
