The government's unplanned sale of some RM5.6 billion in state assets, as pointed out in the latest World Bank report, is a distress signal, reiterates PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli.


 Rebutting the Finance Ministry's statement before the Christmas holidays that he was irresponsible for raising a non-issue, the Pandan MP said the sale may have been disclosed, but it was still a bad move.


 Rafizi said PKR was therefore pushing for an urgent parliamentary session to discuss mismanagement by the government, which has not only led to the asset sale but also the recent slate of unpopular price hikes and subsidy withdrawals.


 "When you see the government resort to asset disposal, it is a sign of desperation," Rafizi told reporters at the PKR headquarters today.


 "The subtle message of the World Bank report is that Malaysia is running out of options to secure our treasury position."


 He also slammed the Finance Ministry, headed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, for "trivialising" a billion dollar sale as a regular finance action.


 Controversy arose over a
 <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/249845">
 
 page
 
 </a>
 from the World Bank report &lsquo;Malaysia Economic Monitor: December 2013' which stated that Malaysia had raised RM7.4 billion from non-tax sources despite spending more on subsidies in 2013. These non-tax sources, it said, included &ldquo;RM1.4 billion of proceeds from asset sales and RM4.2 billion from the securitisation of government mortgages&rdquo;.


 Rafizi said the Finance Ministry has not denied the asset sale but merely stated that amount raised were from proper land sales and securitisation of housing loans given to civil servants and that this was a
 <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/250181">
 
 regular government action
 
 </a>
 .


 &ldquo;If we allow the federal government to do this unchecked, it&rsquo;s a recipe for disaster,&rdquo; Rafizi said. &ldquo;I believe the World Bank wouldn&rsquo;t take the risk to point this one out, if it is not a big issue.&rdquo;


 Equating mortgage sales to a desperate person's visit to the pawn shop, he warned that the Finance Ministry&rsquo;s move may come back to bite the people later.


 
 &lsquo;One of the reasons for the subprime crisis&rsquo;
 


 &ldquo;Even though the ministry has practised this since 2004, such securitisation of government mortgages was one of the reasons for the subprime crisis which hit the United States in 2007-2008,&rdquo; he warned.


 In that crisis, the US Federal Reserve created a property bubble through easy borrowings and low interest rates. But when interest rates rose sharply, many borrowers started defaulting on housing loans and sparked a global banking crisis. It also resulted in the biggest bankruptcy in US history when Lehman Brothers, a 150-year-old finance house, suddenly collapsed.


 Rafizi gave a scenario where with the rise in costs of living, Malaysian borrowers may also fall back on their housing loans, and questioned if investors would then start seizing civil servants&rsquo; mortgaged properties for sale.


 He said he suspects that the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) were the key buyers of the government securities. This would add even more risks to the financial system as a whole as the EPF was already the biggest investor in the Malaysian stock markets.


 More worrisome, Rafizi said, was that the government asset sale may have simply gone to cover careless spending. He noted that the World Bank report had stated that the government found itself short of RM14.3 billion, compared to the approved budget in 2013.


 He also noted that the government had asked Parliament to approve a
 <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/241832">
 
 supplementary budget
 
 </a>
 in September.


 Meanwhile, Rafizi said that PKR has neither sanctioned nor discussed a mass youth rally in Dataran Merdeka, planned on New Year&rsquo;s Eve aimed at protesting against the rising cost of living.


 &ldquo;This is not a PKR programme,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But the same principles and demands of the people are shared by PKR.&rdquo;


 He said the government should however not block the people from wanting to go to downtown KL to celebrate the New Year together and at the same time raise a valid issue.


 Gerakan Turun Kos Sara Hidup (Turun) head Muhamad Azan Safar said yesterday that a
 <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/250202">
 
 demonstration
 
 </a>
 at Dataran Merdeka on Dec 31 would go on despite a police bid to investigate them.

<img alt="" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/691/6854872da36e035393517b940ce87749.jpg" style="width: 64px; height: 64px; float: left;"/>

 UPDATED 3PM

Rebutting the Finance Ministry&rsquo;s statement, he says the sale may have been disclosed but it was still a bad move.

Explain the need to sell our assets, says Rafizi

~RM12

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