As Malaysia rebuilds, foreign relations may not be top focus

THE newly installed Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has paid a great deal of attention to fulfil its election pledges with some sweet additions since the historic May 9 election that saw the stunning defeat of the long-ruling Barisan Nasional.

These are the "low-hanging fruit" even as the leadership faces the monumental task of strengthening the country's finances and restoring the public's faith in its top institutions that have suffered a credibility fallout under the previous regime.

To ease the burden of the Malaysian people, the government has scrapped the highly unpopular goods and services tax (GST) effective June 1 which Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said would "return some RM17 billion (S$5.7 billion) back to ordinary Malaysians for the rest of the year".