Dr Yeah Kim Leng, professor of economics at Sunway University Business School, notes that the 3% deficit target for 2020 in the medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF) — mentioned when Budget 2019 was tabled last November — “is not cast in stone” and “can be varied within limits to respond to changes in economic conditions and expectations”.
SINGAPORE (Aug 12): Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is slated to table Budget 2020 on Oct 11, has said that meeting the country’s fiscal consolidation targets will be “challenging” on the back of the US-China trade war, but added that the government will do its best in balancing that with growth.
Experts, however, believe that Malaysia has leeway to revise the 3% fiscal deficit target pencilled in for next year, given the need to prop up economic growth, bolster confidence and stoke investments to future-proof the country’s economy.
