KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has urged for a further injection of RM45 billion in additional economic stimulus package to mitigate the government’s mismanagement of the economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Citing the government missing its targets for unemployment, gross domestic product (GDP) growth and existing budget deficits, Lim said this does not augur well for investor confidence that the Malaysian economy was on the right track.

“Just like the Cabinet’s mismanagement of the Covid-19 health crisis that made Malaysia the worst in Asean in per capita terms, Perikatan Nasional’s management of the economy is one of policy flip-flops, U-turns and broken promises.

“The government should not be in a state of denial at the severity of the economic recession on ordinary Malaysians and businesses,” he said in a statement here.

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Under such circumstances, Lim said Fitch Ratings in downgrading Malaysia’s international credit ratings last year to the same level as Philippines and Indonesia was therefore justified.

He questioned why no economic initiatives were proposed to rescue the tourism industry that recorded RM100 billion in losses last year, with the industry now unable to recover due to the increased in hotel shutdowns.

Lim also cited the projected 2020 unemployment rate, GDP growth rate and budget deficit at 4.2 per cent, between -4.5 per cent and -5.5 per cent, and 6 per cent, respectively.

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Instead, the actual figures turned out to be 4.5 per cent, -5.6 per cent and 6.2 per cent, he said.

“In January this year, the RM15 billion Permai economic stimulus package was launched after the government had tabled the biggest budget in history of RM322.5 billion for 2021.

“However, this did not prevent Malaysia from posting the worst economic numbers this century with economic growth contracting by 5.6 per cent, deficit ballooning to 6.2 per cent and unemployment rising to 4.5 per cent,” he added.

Therefore, he said the government must introduce the aforementioned RM45 billion economic stimulus package to create new jobs and save existing ones, slow down business closures, provide rental subsidies for businesses and provide new sources of future growth.

He also questioned whether the Emergency Proclamation and the suspension of Parliament proposed by the prime minister was a cunning device to cover-up the administration’s failures and mismanagement.

A national proclamation of Emergency that will last until August was declared in January, ostensibly to provide the government more powers to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the Emergency Ordinance issued after the proclamation, Parliament and all state assemblies are also suspended for the duration.