KUALA LUMPUR – Budget 2023 seeks to balance the need for sustained domestic growth amid global economic headwinds while ensuring fiscal prudence given the current volatility seen in financial and currency markets.
Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) chairman and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) group president and chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said that it is equally important that the budget has laid the foundations for fiscal reforms, starting with the shift to targeted subsidies.
This must be complemented by sustainable revenue sources to reduce dependence on volatile commodity-related incomes and one-off tax revenues as seen in 2022, he said in a statement today.
“We welcome budget allocations, tax incentives, and fiscal measures that support domestic economic growth and are channelled towards themes of inclusivity, equality, sustainability, security, and building resilience, which applies to all segments of society and business sectors,” he said.
Such incentives and measures are demonstrated, among others, through the two percentage point reduction in income tax rates for personal and small and medium enterprises, the enhancements in financial assistance, and welfare payments to lower income and vulnerable groups, he said.
Khairussaleh said this was also seen in the measures to rebuild retirement and voluntary savings, strengthen food and social security, accelerate tourism industry recovery, make home ownership affordable, improve essential public services like healthcare and education, and improve preparedness, responses, and mitigations for natural disasters.
Budget 2023 also highlighted the latest measures that will be adopted by Malaysian banks to combat financial scams as announced recently by Bank Negara Malaysia, which banks are fully committed to, he noted.
“This includes the migration from one-time SMS password to a more secure authentication method for certain transactions including fund transfers and payments, change of personal information, and account settings.
“Banks will also have a 24/7 dedicated complaint channel or hotline for customers to report incidents of scam/fraud.
“On top of this, a National Scam Response Centre will be launched soon. We also welcome the added spending under Budget 2023 to strengthen the detection and reporting of cyber threats including the building of cyber forensic capabilities,” he said.
Besides that, he said ABM also supports Budget 2023’s continued emphasis on environmental, social, and governance and the climate change agenda, a key agenda in the Malaysian financial sector.
“ABM members have already agreed on a set of seven broad ESG principles for the Malaysian banking industry.
“This includes the commitment to achieve carbon net zero across the entire business and financed customer portfolio, incorporate ESG into governance and risk management, as well as to identify, mitigate, and manage risks of modern slavery and human rights across the supply chain,” he added. – Bernama, October 7, 2022
