Minister: Moody's revised rating for Malaysia is not a 'downgrade'

KUALA LUMPUR: A minister here denied that the Government’s rating from positive to stable by Moody’s Investor Service was a downgrade.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar (pic) said the revision was very much a reflective of the global environment as opposed to the strong fundamentals that Malaysia continued to enjoy.

“It’s not a downgrade. The rating remains at A3.

“I think it’s more of the revision in outlook from positive to stable and that’s to take into account the slowing growth in China and the continuate drop in the commodity prices and in particular, the oil prices,” he told a press conference after officiating the 50th anniversary of the Japanese Overseas Cooperation of Volunteers (JOOV) here yesterday.

On the recalibration of Budget 2016, Abdul Wahid said the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) which he was in charged of, would work together with the Finance Ministry to look into things that needed to be done.

“We have to take into account the changing environment, the oil prices and the Brent reference price in particular which can be significantly lower that the assumption we’ve made in the Budget 2016 of USD48.

“This will naturally require some recalibration as the Prime Minister had put it,” he said.

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the 2016 budget would be “recalibrated” to reflect the current economic climate.