Malaysia is to delay introducing laws to bring in a goods and services tax, a finance ministry source told Reuters on Saturday, signalling the end of meaningful fiscal reforms until after the next elections. Over the past three weeks, Malaysia's government has postponed electricity price rises and ended plans to hike subsidised petrol prices, part of measures planned to reduce a budget deficit that stands at a 20-year high. Prime Minister Najib Razak took office last year pledging to liberalise the economy and reduce the deficit after the government that has now ruled this Southeast Asian country for 52 years changed premier following its biggest-ever losses in national and state elections in 2008. “They will have to wait for Najib to get a big mandate from the election before he can continue to really push through the reforms,” said James Chin, a politics professor at Monash University in Kuala Lumpur.
