Malaysia's Peaceful, Stable Environment Boosts Investor Confidence -- Anwar

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- The government still has room in domestic economic policy to ensure a peaceful and stable political environment and increase investor confidence, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The prime minister highlighted that a peaceful political atmosphere helps build investor confidence and promotes investments.

“So investment goes up, jobs increase, and inflation is under control,” he said when asked to comment on concerns over the conflict in Iran, which is expected to affect the stock market when it opens next Monday.

The situation in the Middle East escalated sharply as the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday, with Israel describing it as a “pre-emptive strike” against its “arch-enemy” to “eliminate threats”.

The strikes followed a significant US military build-up in the region intended to pressure Tehran over its nuclear programme, as well as recent widespread protests.

Commenting further on the situation, Anwar, who is also the Minister of Finance, said that there are factors within the government’s control and those beyond it.

“Part of it is under our control, part of it is not. I will give an example using the price of goods. We can control the prices of the goods we produce locally.

He said that while the government can control the prices of locally produced goods, imports depend on access to trade routes.

Anwar said that if there is a blockade of the Red Sea, the distance imports from Europe have to travel will increase significantly, and transportation costs will rise.

“It means transport costs increase. This means the price of goods goes up.

“That’s why we pray for peace, that this conflict ends soon,” he said during a session with students and undergraduates held in conjunction with the Prime Minister’s Berbuka Puasa event with members of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education at the Seri Perdana Complex here today.

Meanwhile, Anwar also urged officials in ministries to stay up to date on current macroeconomic developments to ensure that every decision does not affect stakeholders, such as the public.

He said an understanding of economic development is very important because every policy and expenditure has implications, including the national deficit and taxation.

“I ask senior officials also to follow macroeconomic developments so that when something is required from them, they are aware of the consequences. This is a matter of economic management.

“Economic development is for us to understand. If we just give (everything that is demanded) without considering the effect on the deficit, it means taxes will increase, and people will be angry,” he added.

-- BERNAMA