RM1 million for every Malaysian household sounds like a brilliant idea that will solve all financial issues, right?
The Ministry of Economic Affairs of Malaysia, Rafizi Ramli said that while the idea may sound great, it is impossible to execute. In response to the suggestion made by Perikatan Nasional (PN)’s Wan Ahmad Fayhsal back in 2020 who suggested during a podcast that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) should print money to give to Malaysian households. Rafizi responded via a TikTok video @rafiziramli and explained why the idea of RM1 million for every household is not a wise idea.
“Who’s going to work? All businesses will collapse!”
Assuming there are 8 million households in Malaysia, the government will have to spend RM8 trillion for this purpose alone. The economy and formulae for currency can be confusing, Rafizi said in his TikTok video.
“If that much of money is printed, inflation will go sky high and the value of Malaysian Ringgit will plummet, making our money invaluable.”
Why can’t the government just borrow the money?
Unless we want the country’s debt to go up as high as 500%, borrowing the money to cater to Malaysian households is not a good idea.
“No borrowers would be willing to lend that much of money. Even if they did, we will be charged with interest coupon, which can go as high as 20%.”
Rafizi explained that every year, the government would have to pay RM1 trillion just for the interests alone.
Eventually, it all dials down to the repercussion with the heaviest impact – if everyone is a millionaire, who is going to work?
No business, no working hours, no employees.
“No one is going to work. There will be no businesses and all offices might be closed,” Rafizi said, and highlighted that ideas that sound good don’t necessarily mean it can be executed.
@rafiziramli Kenapa kerajaan tak boleh bagi setiap family RM1 juta? Betul jugak. Kalau kerajaan beri setiap keluarga RM1 juta, kemiskinan dihapuskan dan setiap keluarga akan berbelanja yang akan merancakkan ekonomi sebab permintaan naik mendadak. Perniagaan akan untung dan pendapatan kerajaan akan meningkat lagi. Mungkin ini pemikiran Ahli Parlimen Machang, Wan Fayshal bila dia mencadangkan kerajaan mencetak wang. Kalau kita cetak wang, mungkin kita boleh laksana idea abang tadi untuk bagi RM1 juta setiap keluarga. Tapi ada sebab kenapa tidak ada kerajaan yang mengambil jalan mencetak wang begini. Jom kita kira: Jumlah wang yang diperlukan untuk setiap keluarga – 8 juta isi rumah X RM1 juta = 8 trilion ringgit Kalau kita cetak wang, inflasi naik mendadak dan nilai ringgit jatuh mendadak. Nanti jadi seperti wang pokok pisang masa zaman Jepun. Kalau kita pinjam, jumlah hutang negara akan mencecah 500% dari saiz ekonomi. Mustahil ada peminjam yang akan meminjamkan begitu banyak wang kepada Malaysia. Kalau ada pun yang sanggup membeli bon kerajaan untuk mengumpul dana RM8 trilion itu, mereka akan mengenakan kupon faedah yang sangat tinggi, mungkin mencecah 20%. Setiap tahun, kerajaan perlu membayar lebih RM1 trilion sebagai faedah sahaja, sedangkan pendapatan kerajaan tidak mencecah RM400 bilion. Yang paling penting, kalau setiap keluarga ada RM1 juta, siapa yang nak kerja? Semua dah jadi jutawan, kita ada masalah kerana semua perniagaan dan pejabat mungkin akan tutup! Sebab itu, ada sesetengah idea ni, walaupun bunyi bagus tapi tidak semestinya boleh dilaksanakan. #rafiziramli #KementerianEkonomi #ekonomimadani #madani #cetakwang #ekonomiMalaysia #Inflasi #InfoEkonomi #wanfayhsal
What do you think of Fayhsal and Rafizi’s take on RM1 million for every household? Will there be no career left should everyone had that amount of money on their hands?
Also read: “At least RM1 MIL income” – LHDN Says Number of M’sian Millionaires Under 30 is Increasing
