KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 ― Malaysia's economy is strong enough to move away from subsidies, says Rabobank's director and head of financial market research for Asia-Pacific, Michael Every.
He said this would benefit the country in the long run as the subsidies could be used for more useful spending such as for infrastructure.
“If the government is serious in reducing fiscal deficit, that (rationalisation subsidies) are the easiest way to do it,” he told reporters after the Dutch cooperative bank's 2014 Client Seminar here today.
Every said the rationalisation would have an impact on the economy in the short term as everyone would have to adjust to the new economic structure.
“It will help the people to make more rationale economic decisions in the long run, which can only be good for Malaysia. I don't think Malaysians are relying on subsidies (currently). They are just being used to them.
“There's a difference between relying on something and being used to something,” he said. ― Bernama
