KUCHING: A recent survey amongst 4,468 respondents found that most people (82 per cent) believed that the increase in costs of living in recent times is due to the implementation of GST. Is this a fair assessment? And why ?
If you have been trying to make some sense of what is usually reported about how well Malaysia’s economy is doing for example GDP is at 5.9 per cent at Q4 2017 and other positive forecast AND what many ordinary citizens are experiencing on the ground, feeling the pinch of rising costs of goods and services, transport and housing, we invite you to participate in an upcoming public forum organised by Rise of Sarawak Efforts (R.O.S.E) to be held on the Sat 3rd March at 7.15 pm at Hotel Grand Continental , Jln Ban Hock, Kuching, a press released stated yesterday.
The forum will be conducted using Bahasa Malaysia as language of communication.
We have invited two very distinguished panelists and they are Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid and Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajuddin.
Dr Muhammed is currently head of a socio-economic policy research and consulting outfit based in KL and has written several books one of which is “The Colour of Inequality; Ethnicity, Class Income and Wealth in Malaysia”. He has been dubbed as a people’s economist (pakar ekonomi yang berjiwa rakyat) and speaks the language of the layman when it comes to expressing what might be expert views. He is no stranger to public discussions and forums and his pre-budget 2018 views went viral last October.
Saudara Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajuddin is an economist by training and has about two decades of experience in financial markets, public policies, strategic planning and general investments. He was also once a special functions officer or adviser to the CM of Selangor. Currently he does consultancy and research work for a multitude of clients ranging from financial institutions, government agencies to NGOs and think-tanks.
Both panelists will attempt to unpack and shed light on the above often-held views and topics related to the Malaysian economy and the welfare and wealth of the people with some emphasis on the perspective and predicament of young working Malaysians. Nevertheless we welcome attendance and participation by all ages or members of the public.
Through this discussion and sharing of knowledge and information in particular policies and government actions that affect the people and their lives (directly or indirectly) ROSE aims to bring about greater voter and citizens’ awareness that our everyday lives and felt realities are closely connected with what government does or does not do. Conversely, as citizens and members of civil society our participation as voters in elections (choosing the people who make these decisions) is the minimal one has to do.
This forum is the first in the series of pre-election forums that is being planned. It is organised in collaboration and partnership with other NGOs and civil societies namely Lawyer Kamek for Change, Ikram and others.
The Organising Committee of the Forum calls on members of the public to attend and participate.There is no fee chargeable and it is FOC, the press statement concluded.
