KUALA LUMPUR – Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has drawn praise for responding to the barrage of criticism levelled at him over his remarks on the economy in a humble, yet professional, way.
In a LinkedIn post yesterday evening, the former banker acknowledged the responses to his comments on Malaysia’s economic strengths in the global community, welcoming them as “constructive feedback”.
He said he has read all the responses.
“Thank you, everyone, for your feedback on my previous posting. I have read all of them, and I appreciate the constructive feedback.”
He went on to explain how the strategy outlined in the National Economic Recovery Plan will alleviate problems brought about by Covid-19, and help the country rebound.
The polite and patient manner in which he addressed the criticism, including brickbats from major industry leaders, drew compliments from LinkedIn users.
Raymond Madden, a fellow at Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics in the United States, said: “Excellent and helpful summary putting meat on the bones. International chambers of commerce should recognise the hard work of the MoF (Finance Ministry) team. More high-end value-added services should be encouraged, as this would make us more attractive across Asean.”
In his reply, Tengku Zafrul gave an assurance that his ministry values all stakeholders, including the country’s trading partners and the domestic business community.
“There is no window-dressing when I say this: last year alone, despite hurdles presented by the Covid-19 situation, between March and December, the MoF team and myself directly engaged with more than 125 business-based associations, interest groups and chambers of commerce (both local and foreign), as part of our engagements in creating the four economic stimulus packages, and Budget 2021.
“For Budget 2021 alone, we received over 6,000 ideas and suggestions, which we carefully evaluated.
“We continue to welcome suggestions and well-meaning feedback without prejudice.”
He said each member of his team has been working “extremely hard” over the past 10 months to deliver the numbers, adding that he will certainly keep the public updated. – The Vibes, January 12, 2020
