Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim rarely presents a budget without a literary flourish. Tabling his latest on Oct 9, Anwar cited Isaiah Berlin, John Rawls and Homer, among others. He also offered a slogan: "reach for the sky, stay rooted in the earth".
As with all budgets, the numbers need to match the words. Thankfully, they do in this one.
Malaysia’s GDP grew by 6% year-on-year in the second quarter. Among Southeast Asia’s six biggest economies, only Vietnam, at 8.4%, did better. Singapore managed 5.9% and Indonesia 5.3%, while Thailand and the Philippines grew by about 2%.
Inflation is around 2%, while the ringgit has held roughly steady against the US dollar this year. In June, Swiss business school IMD ranked Malaysia the world’s 15th most competitive economy, second in the region to Singapore.
