KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 ― Malaysia's economic growth during times when oil was below US$25 (RM109.95) per barrel controverts Putrajaya's assertion that the commodity's price now was partially to blame for the country's sluggish economy, said Tony Pua yesterday.
Disputing the prime minister who said external factors were responsible for the current state of Malaysia's economy, the DAP MP said the change in oil price instead exposed the government's profligacy when the price of petroleum surged in previous years.
“The price of crude oil was less than US$25 prior to 2007. However, the price of oil never impeded Malaysia’s economic performance in the years before that.
“Instead, the question that needs to be asked to Datuk Seri Najib Razak who became the finance minister from September 2008, is what happened to all the excess earnings during his reign when oil prices hovered above US$100 per barrel?” the Petaling Jaya MP said.
Pua said the windfall revenue derived when oil prices had stayed above the US$100 benchmark should have been sufficient to cushion the fall in government income after its value fell, alleging that this buffer had instead been wasted through corruption and mismanagement.
The DAP national publicity secretary also disputed that the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy contributed to Malaysia's economic slowdown, insisting that the move to raise US interest rates had been three years in the making, giving ample time for Putrajaya to prepare.
Pua also insisted that Putrajaya's blaming of external factors for the country's weak economy conversely meant that the federal government could not claim credit for the recent growth as this would have been due to outside influence rather than policies such as the Government Transformation Plan and Economic Transformation Plan.
“After more than seven years, Malaysians and international investors can now see through the charade of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s economic rhetoric,” Pua added.
Najib last week announced that he will revise Budget 2016 after oil price fell to around US$30 per barrel, down sharply from the US$48 benchmark that Putrajaya used to forecast its revenue in the federal spending plan.
The revision will be the second in a row for Najib, who was forced to revise Budget 2015 last January when oil price also plunged then.
On Monday, Najib said in his address to the staff of the Prime Minister's Department that Putrajaya was not to blame for the country's economic state, which he noted was the result of low oil price, US monetary policy and the slowing Chinese economy.
