Anwar says ‘Ali Baba’ losses amount to 1% of GDP
Published on: Tuesday, July 11, 2023
By: FMT
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the National Economic Action Council reaffirmed its commitment to eradicate rent-seeking or the ‘Ali Baba’ culture.
PETALING JAYA: Losses arising from the “Ali Baba” business practices in the country amount to around 1% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP), says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the losses were linked to procurement, licensing, permits and quotas, as well as subsidies and grants. According to the statistics department, last year’s GDP amounted to RM1.8 trillion at current prices and RM1.5 trillion at constant prices.
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In a statement, Anwar said the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to eradicate rent-seeking, which is commonly known as the “Ali Baba” culture.
Anwar said the economy ministry and attorney-general’s chambers, with the participation of other ministries and government agencies, would study and draw up the appropriate legal policies and strategies to eradicate rent-seeking activities and present the proposals to the Cabinet.
“Ali Baba” is a business practice in which those who win projects or contracts then sub-contract the real work to others for a profit.
The term also applies to locals who own businesses but rent them out to foreigners to operate.
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Last month, economy minister Rafizi Ramli said the “Ali Baba” concept had been occurring for a long time without any specific law to curb it, adding that this had created a sense of injustice and dissatisfaction in the community.
Anwar said MTEN also discussed the National Energy Transition Roadmap yesterday.
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He said the first phase of the transition would involve 10 high-value flagship pilot projects that were estimated to cost RM25 billion and would create 23,000 high-quality jobs.
Anwar said these pilot projects were also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 10,000 gigagrams.
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