Govt not just in cost-cutting mode, says Lim

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng says Malaysia is not in an austerity mode, instead it is adopting a smart spending in the key priority areas. - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: While the government’s fiscal deficit target is important, it will give priority in ensuring sustainable economic growth in the country, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (pic).

He said the government wanted to see sustainable economic growth to continue so that the country’s primary objective of improving the people’s economic well-being could be ensured.

“When you improve the people’s economic well-being, it will lead to higher wage increases and higher purchasing power, which will lead to better economic growth.

“This is a self-fulfilling and virtuous cycle,” Lim told the media when met on the sidelines of the “Malaysia: A New Dawn” investors conference.

He said this to elaborate on his speech at the conference.

Lim added that he did not want to create the impression that the government was only concerned with cost rationalisation.

“We are also focused on sustainable economic growth and that is why I want to say that although there are some cancellations, it is not as big as has been magnified in the media.”

Lim said that only one or two unsustainable mega-projects had been cancelled.

Most of the other ongoing projects involving the public sector would continue but under a different mecha­nism and via open tenders, he said.