SERC: Public should not expect everything to be addressed in 12 months

Malaysia's Budget 2019 indicates greater transparency in the country's public accounts and a focus on inclusive growth, which if sustained, will be credit positive, says Moody's Investors Service.

PETALING JAYA: The Socio-economic Research Centre has urged the public not to expect everything which was announced in Budget 2019 on Nov 2 to be addressed within 12 months. 

SERC executive director Lee  Heng Guie said on Tuesday: "This is not a tap where you turn it on and the money comes out. What if the oil price comes down below US$60 a barrell? Can Petronas afford to give dividend to the government? 

"Hopefully, this dividend will be a one-off because this will take away money for investment for Petronas,” he said.

He was speaking at the Asian Tiger: A New Journey  Budget 2019 Commentary organised by Rehda Institute.

Lee also disagreed that it was an expansionary budget because if the revenue was removed, this would result in a decline in the government revenue. 

He also pointed that how much of the tax refunds would be channelled back into the economy was important but this was still an unknown. 

"So overall, it is a relatively balanced budget, " he said, adding it will take about five years to see results from  the government going into reset mode.