Deputy Youth and Sports Minister, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, said that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) should print more money and directly give it to citizens as a solution to the nation’s current economic issues.
In a recent interview with BFM, Wan Fayhsal was asked about Budget 2021 and the kind of initiatives that should be implemented to help citizens manage their debt. Aside from “forgiving debt”, with monetary policy and “helicopter money”, the Deputy Minister also suggested that “the central bank can directly print money and give it to the people so that they can spend it”.
To put things in perspective, “helicopter money” refers to a large sum of new money that is printed and distributed among the public to stimulate the economy during a recession.
The Deputy Minister added that Budget 2021 incentives were designed to create jobs for the youth. “This budget needs to be seen in tandem with what we have announced earlier such as PENJANA and PRIHATIN as well as what’s coming after the Budget, our most important plan, the 12th Malaysian plan.”
He also said he believes the ministry has the jobs needed to help the youth who need opportunities and new skills to make sure they are being absorbed into the labour market. “My ministry at least, we have been working closely with other ministries to help our youth take more opportunities to expand their skills under various schemes”.
The Deputy Minister then gave the examples of freelancing opportunities provided in partnership with MDEC and MyGIG, a programme introduced to introduce new digital career opportunities.
After receiving backlash for his statements, the Deputy Minister has said that many people have misunderstood his comments, which relate to the modern monetary theory (MMT), supported by academics.
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