Balancing act between growth and fiscal prudence

ON Oct 10, Prime Minister is scheduled to unfold the Budget 2015. The usual wish list of the budget – almost always without fail – include the ‘goodies’ from the government, lately more so the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysaia (BR1M) handout.

As much as the rakyat hopes for more economic assistance and perks that can ease their burden of rising cost of living, policymakers view the Budget as a fiscal policy tool to stabilise the domestic economic momentum, steering it towards a high-income nation status by 2020, without risking its sovereign ratings.