Penang State Government Merdeka Day Message By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town On 31.8.2015.
Malaysians celebrate a bleak Merdeka following plunging confidence in Malaysia’s economy, public integrity and political accountability that has led to an economic and political crisis. Penang is no exception and this is reflected in the performance of the ringgit, which has dropped by 28% over the past year to over 4.2 to 1 US dollar. This effectively means that Malaysians are poorer by 28% in US dollar terms.
Penang has paid the price by dropping back to middle-income status when we are supposed to graduate to high-income economy this year. The World Economic Forum Human Capital Report defined a high-income economy as one whose Gross Domestic Product or GDP per capita reaches USD$12,467 or RM 40,841 based on the exchange rate of RM3.27 for USD$1.
Continue reading “Economic Measures Focusing On Tourism, Housing Construction and Public Infrastructure Works, Investment In Manufacturing And Services Will Be Adopted To Counter The Nearly 20% Drop In Business Turnover Due To Implementation Of GST And 28% Depreciation In The Ringgit Due To RM42 Billion 1MDB Scandal.(e/c)”