Government Must Continue to Sustain Economic Recovery and Address Leakages in 2022
KUALA LUMPUR – 31 December 2021 – As Malaysians will be celebrating the New Year tomorrow, the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob must maintain its momentum in revitalising the national economy impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as addressing the financial leakages amounting to RM300 billion due to the shadow economy, said the Retail and Trade Brands Advocacy Malaysia Chapter (RTBA Malaysia) today.
RTBA Malaysia, which is part of an international advocacy group that protects businesses in the Asia-Pacific region from criminal conduct, also said that Malaysian policymakers must also be more cohesive in formulating and supporting policies that will help legitimate businesses in Malaysia recover and grow in the new normal.
Dato ‘Fazli Nordin, Managing Director of RTBA Malaysia, said, “The RM400 billion 12th Malaysia Plan unveiled a month ago has the breadth and depth to generate the multiplier effect required to re-energise the Malaysian economy. This will benefit businesses and people across the nation.
Nevertheless, it is critical that the 12th Malaysia Plan is implemented in a strategic and well-thought-out manner to ensure positive outcomes and prosperity for all Malaysians,”he added.
Dato’ Fazli also said that the initiatives implemented by the Malaysian Government in 2021 to curtail leakages is also working and must be sustained, if not enhanced. “A series of initiatives to counter the illegal cigarettes trade, which has caused the Government to lose RM5 billion annually in uncollected revenue, was implemented in 2021.
These include, amongst others, a freeze on the issuance of new import licences for cigarettes, tightening the renewal of import licences for cigarettes, limiting transshipment of cigarettes to dedicated ports, imposition of tax on the import of cigarettes with drawback facilities for re-export, disallowing transshipment of cigarettes and re-export of cigarettes by small boats,” he highlighted.
He said, “These enforcement policies have caused the incidence of illegal cigarettes to decrease by 5.9 percentage points, from 63.8 per cent in 2020 to 57.9 per cent in May 2021. While there is still much more that needs to be done to eradicate this massive drain on the economy, the unprecedented downtrend of illegal cigarettes is an indication for the Government to remain steadfast in sustaining these initiatives to bring revenue back to public coffers.”
RTBA Malaysia also stressed that a stable Government is very important to ensure that economic plans and stimulus and policies to address leakages can be carried out effectively. “Political stability also attracts foreign direct investments while establishing a better foundation for the Administration to combat crime and corruption,” Dato Fazli concluded.