KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — As Malaysia braves the economical storm set upon by the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank here has expressed its confidence in the country’s abilities in handling and coming out of the recession thanks to its diverse economic structure.
During a press conference streamed live today, World Bank Malaysia country manager Firas Raad pointed out that the current economic recession caused by the pandemic is something unprecedented in recent times and that Malaysia are not alone in encountering it.
“This is one massive economic storm, and Malaysia is not alone in battling this storm, everyone is battling it around the globe, in that sense, Malaysia can learn and other countries can learn from each other in terms of what is working and what is not.
“We feel that Malaysia has what it takes to weather it all, to come out on the other side of the storm and it can survive for many reasons,” he said during the live broadcast.
Among the reasons cited by Raas was how Malaysia enjoys a diverse economic structure with various industries contributing to its coffers paired with sound economic management while having a strong financial system at its core.
“So, there are many factors that are there to support this idea of Malaysia surviving the storm and to recover economically, and we feel it’s an opportunity as well to come out of it and into a new normal but in a better stronger position.
“This is because its tackling some of the reform agendas that it has been wanting to tackle for a while and we think now is the opportunity to do so,” he said.
When asked if the current government, given its slim majority in Parliament, would come across challenges up ahead when looking to implement policies, Raad said that the government must first prioritise measures to heal the economy.
“With that magnitude of impact, you have to do everything to fight the outbreak and invigorate the economy; the general message is, do what you can.
“Our advice to the government is, see what it can do, reprioritise spending, look into new resources of revenues, and take steps to effect changes; do what you must in a fight in such as this to make sure that you can recover from it effectively,” he said during the interview.
This as the World Bank today launched its Malaysian Economic Monitor report, which looks into steps that can be taken to heal the local economy’s coming out of the pandemic.
It was also pointed out during the stream that despite the various economic stimulus packages announced by the government, not knowing when the pandemic will end should keep the administration on its toes to look at the possibility of introducing even more packages in the future.
