Recovering the economy from pandemic and peril at GE15

We're talking about Malaysia’s troubled economy in this episode, as it struggles to recover with a more credible government after GE15. When the February 2020 coup that collapsed the short-lived Pakatan Harapan government happened – on the eve of the pandemic’s border closures and shutdown of the economy – several long-awaited reforms also imploded as a new Perikatan Nasional government kept Malaysians and the economy alive. With MIDF economist Zafri Zulkeffeli and Dr Greg Lopez of Murdoch University, we're exploring how any new government can get out of this jam. With rising 1MDB-related debt servicing costs, and a looming global recession, there’s also huge pressure to cut subsidies and reintroduce taxes like the GST, just as Malaysians already squeezed by soaring living costs hope for good government relief. Can the longer-term problems of diversifying Malaysia's economy away from fossil fuels and ensuring the security of its healthcare, education and food supply be resolved, sooner rather than later?

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