This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 9, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Asean Research Institute (Cari) chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid said the new government’s approach for a more open and transparent administration is a plus for the economy, adding that it has not yet factored in economic growth projections.

“In Malaysia, we all get scared to say negative things about our economy but we have to be objective about the matter, and accept that certain things are happening [which] are a challenge to the economy.

“But looking at the present government talking about having open tenders, how corruption will be reduced dramatically, there will be an impact [on growth]. It’s just that we don’t see that reflected in the numbers that we are reading now. It will take time,” Munir told reporters after a Cari briefing yesterday.

“We also seem to be so concerned about the stock market. Yes, it is an indicator of economic performance, but it isn’t the ‘be all and end all’. Sometimes we forget about the real economy, the investments that may come in, taking time to make an impact.”

Munir concurred with Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming’s statement earlier this week that while the economy may be slowing, a recession is not on the horizon.

“I would agree that there will be no recession but I think there are signs of [the economy] slowing down. You can see recent numerous downward revisions of forecasts by the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund), for example.”

The World Bank had cut Malaysia’s gross domestic product growth forecast from 4.9% to 4.7% for 2018, and the IMF from 5.3% to 4.7%.

At the briefing, Munir urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to leverage the Asean Solutions for Investments, Services and Trade (Assist) mechanism to help flag unfair non-tariff measures.

“Frustrations in the trade of goods and services are still far too many in Asean. The Assist mechanism is one way to break down these impediments. Companies, especially SMEs encountering these problems, should use it, even as efforts to deal with trade barriers are addressed at the policy level.”

Assist is a non-binding and consultative online portal expediting solutions for operational cross-border problems faced by businesses exporting goods or services to other Asean countries.