LETTER | So, what's the plan, Madani government?

LETTER | Like the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), I, as a small medium enterprise (SME) owner, was equally shocked by the government's plans for progressive wage increases for the private and public sectors.

For most of us SMEs, we are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and numerous movement control orders.

At a time when we are just recovering, we are faced with so many other challenges, especially the ringgit's freefall.

Being a major importer of food and other essentials, the depreciation of the ringgit only spells higher costs of food and other daily items for us.

Apart from that, many of us, with children studying abroad, are also feeling the pinch.

The government of the day should be addressing issues like these and not be burdening the rakyat further by imposing unrealistic demands on us.

Unlike 1997 when the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad pegged the ringgit to the US dollar, we currently do not see any structured, out-of-the-box solutions to tackle this problem.

Why is it that till today, the government has not come up with any mitigating measures for those adversely affected by the OPR (overnight policy rate) hike?

There must be a plan to lift Malaysia out of this situation to regain its past glory.

Get down to basics

From the outside, it looks like the Madani government does not have any plan at the moment.

Coming up with things like withdrawing subsidies from the T20 group is not a solution; in fact, it will surely backfire.

Does the government not realise that the T20 is a wide band and that they contribute the largest chunk of taxes to the national coffers?

If Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is serious about holding on to Putrajaya, he needs to get down to basics.

For most Malaysians, it is the economy that we are most worried about, not other petty issues which the Madani government seems more focused on.

I am sorry to say, but sadly, to date, the government has been a total let-down and the frustration and anger of the people is mounting each day.

Some drastic measures are needed and these are needed right now.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.