IDEAS and Bersih released a report on Malaysia's Constituency Development Funds. Click on the link to download
https://www.bersih.org/download/removal-or-reform-charting-the-way-forward-for-malaysias-constituency-development-funds/
https://www.bersih.org/download/removal-or-reform-charting-the-way-forward-for-malaysias-constituency-development-funds/
IDEAS_Media_Statement_New_Gazetted_Ordinance_an_Affront_to_Public.pdf
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MEDIA STATEMENT
IDEAS: New Gazetted Ordinance is an Affront to Public Accountability
IDEAS: New Gazetted Ordinance is an Affront to Public Accountability
Media Statement: IDEAS seeks answers over repeated changes to ECRL project and calls for transparency
The Merdeka Centre's latest survey shows Malaysians are having a growing hesitation towards the concept of liberalism. The survey, "Perceptions Towards Liberalism in Malaysia", shows that perceptions towards liberalism as a 'bad concept' for Malaysia has increased from 22% to 42% between 2016 to 2020.
From the survey, breaking down the respondents by socio-economic status gets us to striking notes - Such as that 65% of Malay respondents believed liberalism was a bad concept, 62% and 66% of Chinese and Indians respectively believed it was a good concept. Likewise, a higher proportion of rural to urban respondents (50% to 28%) believed liberalism was a negative concept.
Join our webinar where the Senior Research Manager of Merdeka Center, Tan Seng Keat, will present and discuss their findings!
Register here: https://lnkd.in/gVk3_-w
From the survey, breaking down the respondents by socio-economic status gets us to striking notes - Such as that 65% of Malay respondents believed liberalism was a bad concept, 62% and 66% of Chinese and Indians respectively believed it was a good concept. Likewise, a higher proportion of rural to urban respondents (50% to 28%) believed liberalism was a negative concept.
Join our webinar where the Senior Research Manager of Merdeka Center, Tan Seng Keat, will present and discuss their findings!
Register here: https://lnkd.in/gVk3_-w
MEDIA STATEMENT
IDEAS calls for transparency in government’s decision to withdraw from National Trust Fund for vaccine expenses
IDEAS calls for transparency in government’s decision to withdraw from National Trust Fund for vaccine expenses
MEDIA STATEMENT
IDEAS and CME warn multigenerational year housing loans proposed by BMF further stress B40 financial stability
Kuala Lumpur, 04 May 2021 -The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the Center for Market Education (CME) warned that the housing solutions proposed by the Better Malaysia Foundation (BMF), namely government-backed 100% financing to B40 house buyers through two-generation housing loans, may cause further stress on the financial stability of the rakyat. .
Both organizations argue that pushing BFM’s products may saddle already financially strained B40 families and their children with additional debt. Instead, policymakers should consider alternative proposals to tackle housing unaffordability in Malaysia, including promoting guaranteed-rent policies as well as rethinking quality housing requirements.
Both organizations noted that while BMF should be allowed to offer their products in the market, they should do so without government support whether through the sale of land at low costs or government guarantees for housing loans. The top priority of state officials at this time should be to safeguard the rakyat's financial stability and to restore their savings capacity, allowing them to recover from the COVID-19 crisis and regain purchasing power.
As noted by IDEAS’ Senior Fellow Carmelo Ferlito, “BMF’s products should have to go through the market test in order to win consumers' favour, without the explicit backing of the government. This is surely better than top-down solutions offered by the government, as the entrepreneurial risks would be borne by BMF and not the taxpayers.”
“Ultimately, 100% financing and up to 60-year loans are very dangerous instruments. These kinds of financing policies in the housing market, targeting home buyers who may not have the financial capacity to repay their loans, is what generated the 2007-2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States and Europe. These loans will simply become multigenerational, heaping on additional debt on already financially strained families as well as their children to come, setting an unhealthy precedent for household debt management.”
As both organizations note, should BMF’s proposals enter the market, financial literacy education will become even more critical. With Malaysia’s household debt/GDP ratio reaching 93.3%, the country arguably has a much more urgent problem than home affordability. It should be noted additionally that the home-ownership rate in Malaysia is 77%. With policy ultimately composed of trade-offs, to further push on home-ownership means to further put under stress the financial stability of the rakyat, in particular of the B40.
Carmelo Ferlito notes, “A better proposal to the housing unaffordability issue in Malaysia would be the so-called guaranteed-rent method, in which the government would guarantee the mortgage and rent for property developers or owners to carry them economically, while in exchange the developer or owner would be required to select tenants from the group of people designated by the government agency in charge. Such a solution would imply a lower financial burden for the government.”
“A second solution would be to rethink how quality housing requirements as set by the government’s National Housing Policy (NHP) 2018-2025, including minimum size requirements, parking size requirements and the newly-introduced smart-growth regulations can inadvertently raise the costs of housing in Malaysia, particularly when we take a more holistic approach to analyzing housing affordability through the three elements of floor area, location and price per square meter or per square foot.”
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About IDEAS
The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) is a nonprofit research institute, dedicated to promoting solutions to public policy challenges, focussing on three overarching missions – advancing a competitive economy, ensuring trust in institutions and promoting an inclusive Malaysia.
IDEAS and CME warn multigenerational year housing loans proposed by BMF further stress B40 financial stability
Kuala Lumpur, 04 May 2021 -The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the Center for Market Education (CME) warned that the housing solutions proposed by the Better Malaysia Foundation (BMF), namely government-backed 100% financing to B40 house buyers through two-generation housing loans, may cause further stress on the financial stability of the rakyat. .
Both organizations argue that pushing BFM’s products may saddle already financially strained B40 families and their children with additional debt. Instead, policymakers should consider alternative proposals to tackle housing unaffordability in Malaysia, including promoting guaranteed-rent policies as well as rethinking quality housing requirements.
Both organizations noted that while BMF should be allowed to offer their products in the market, they should do so without government support whether through the sale of land at low costs or government guarantees for housing loans. The top priority of state officials at this time should be to safeguard the rakyat's financial stability and to restore their savings capacity, allowing them to recover from the COVID-19 crisis and regain purchasing power.
As noted by IDEAS’ Senior Fellow Carmelo Ferlito, “BMF’s products should have to go through the market test in order to win consumers' favour, without the explicit backing of the government. This is surely better than top-down solutions offered by the government, as the entrepreneurial risks would be borne by BMF and not the taxpayers.”
“Ultimately, 100% financing and up to 60-year loans are very dangerous instruments. These kinds of financing policies in the housing market, targeting home buyers who may not have the financial capacity to repay their loans, is what generated the 2007-2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States and Europe. These loans will simply become multigenerational, heaping on additional debt on already financially strained families as well as their children to come, setting an unhealthy precedent for household debt management.”
As both organizations note, should BMF’s proposals enter the market, financial literacy education will become even more critical. With Malaysia’s household debt/GDP ratio reaching 93.3%, the country arguably has a much more urgent problem than home affordability. It should be noted additionally that the home-ownership rate in Malaysia is 77%. With policy ultimately composed of trade-offs, to further push on home-ownership means to further put under stress the financial stability of the rakyat, in particular of the B40.
Carmelo Ferlito notes, “A better proposal to the housing unaffordability issue in Malaysia would be the so-called guaranteed-rent method, in which the government would guarantee the mortgage and rent for property developers or owners to carry them economically, while in exchange the developer or owner would be required to select tenants from the group of people designated by the government agency in charge. Such a solution would imply a lower financial burden for the government.”
“A second solution would be to rethink how quality housing requirements as set by the government’s National Housing Policy (NHP) 2018-2025, including minimum size requirements, parking size requirements and the newly-introduced smart-growth regulations can inadvertently raise the costs of housing in Malaysia, particularly when we take a more holistic approach to analyzing housing affordability through the three elements of floor area, location and price per square meter or per square foot.”
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About IDEAS
The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) is a nonprofit research institute, dedicated to promoting solutions to public policy challenges, focussing on three overarching missions – advancing a competitive economy, ensuring trust in institutions and promoting an inclusive Malaysia.
IDEAS is Malaysia’s first independent think tank, free of personal interests and partisan influences. For more information, visit www.ideas.org.my.
About CME
The Center for Market Education (CME) is a boutique think-tank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. As an academic and educational institution, CME aims to promote a more pluralistic and multidisciplinary approach to economics and to spread the knowledge of a sounder economics, grounded in the understanding of market forces. We look not only at theoretical economics but also at policy making, with an emphasis on the unintended consequences generated by political actions. For more information, visit www.marketedu.org.
For enquiries, please contact:
Amir Ridzuan Jamaludin
Assistant Manager, External Relations
+603 2070 8881/8882
amir@ideas.org.my
Carmelo Ferlito
CEO
Center for Market Education
centerformarketeducation@gmail.com
+60192394148
About CME
The Center for Market Education (CME) is a boutique think-tank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. As an academic and educational institution, CME aims to promote a more pluralistic and multidisciplinary approach to economics and to spread the knowledge of a sounder economics, grounded in the understanding of market forces. We look not only at theoretical economics but also at policy making, with an emphasis on the unintended consequences generated by political actions. For more information, visit www.marketedu.org.
For enquiries, please contact:
Amir Ridzuan Jamaludin
Assistant Manager, External Relations
+603 2070 8881/8882
amir@ideas.org.my
Carmelo Ferlito
CEO
Center for Market Education
centerformarketeducation@gmail.com
+60192394148
MEDIA STATEMENT
IDEAS calls for predictability and better coordination in government pandemic management in light of new MCO
IDEAS calls for predictability and better coordination in government pandemic management in light of new MCO
Bersih 2.0 have launched a report, "Reforming the Appointment Process of Directors in GLICs, GLCs and Commercially Related Statute Bodies"! IDEAS is proud to co-publish this paper and be the research partner for the study in the hopes of better transparency and management of GLICs and GLCs in Malaysia.
Under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration, there is a high number of elected representatives who were appointed as directors of GLCs and statutory bodies. The lack of proper check and balance on appointment processes allows for potential abuses or conflicts which harms public interest. The paper proposes policy recommendations that would improve the appointment process of directors in GLICs and GLCs in order to prevent future abuses that are detrimental to public interest.
Read the paper:
https://www.ideas.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Reforming-the-Appointment-Process-of-Directors-in-GLICs-GLCs-and-Commercially-Related-Statute-Bodies_compressed.pdf
Watch the report launch here:
https://www.facebook.com/IDEASMalaysia/videos/186508513244300
Under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration, there is a high number of elected representatives who were appointed as directors of GLCs and statutory bodies. The lack of proper check and balance on appointment processes allows for potential abuses or conflicts which harms public interest. The paper proposes policy recommendations that would improve the appointment process of directors in GLICs and GLCs in order to prevent future abuses that are detrimental to public interest.
Read the paper:
https://www.ideas.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Reforming-the-Appointment-Process-of-Directors-in-GLICs-GLCs-and-Commercially-Related-Statute-Bodies_compressed.pdf
Watch the report launch here:
https://www.facebook.com/IDEASMalaysia/videos/186508513244300
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Media Statement
IDEAS welcomes PEMERKASA+ aid package, but calls for greater transparency in financing and procurement process
IDEAS welcomes PEMERKASA+ aid package, but calls for greater transparency in financing and procurement process