KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — RHB Research says the three-year timeframe mentioned in the economic road-map is realistic and in line with its expectation that Malaysia needs to go through a period of short-term pain for long-term gain.

In a note today, Economist Peck Boon Soon said the research house is confident that the current leadership would be able to steer the government’s fiscal position to a stronger footing in the years to come.

"We have seen how the Selangor and Penang Chief Ministers had worked through the same path to improve the financial status of these two states when the states fell into the opposition’s hand then,” he said.

The economic road-map, as announced by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), aims to put Malaysia on a path to sustainable growth with fiscal discipline, prudent budgeting, monetary stability and low inflation despite the challenges and global economic uncertainty.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the road-map includes the establishment of a Public Finance Committee, Goods and Services Tax refunds and financing options, which includes the issuance of debt and asset monetisation.

On the issuance of debt, Peck said the research house believes it is the right move to make.

"The MOF stressed that the additional debt issuance will be gradual as well as transparent to the market via announcements through the auction calendar as per current practice, to ensure that investors will be able to absorb the additional issuances without major adjustments in yields that could increase the government’s borrowing cost,” he said. — Bernama