KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia still has room to deploy fiscal support for industries impacted by the fallout of the Iran war, according to Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, chairman of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.
"We are bracing ourselves to ensure that the Malaysian government can support some of these industries,” Tengku Zafrul said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin on Tuesday. "We still have the fiscal space.”
The country entered the crisis with strong fundamentals, Tengku Zafrul said, while savings from a reduction in fuel subsidies prior to the Middle East conflict have helped cushion some of the impact.
Still, a prolonged war and continued disruption to energy supply will weigh on the country’s fiscal position. Malaysia’s government is under pressure to contain rising living costs and manage a swelling subsidy bill due to higher oil prices. The nation’s monthly subsidies for both petrol and diesel have climbed to RM6bil, from RM700mil before the conflict.
Authorities will discuss measures to address surging fuel and essential goods costs driven by the Middle East war in a meeting on Tuesday. - Bloomberg
