10 Things Anwar Hates About Najib's Financial Sense
No cabinet ministers from Barisan Nasional were present to listen to Anwar's debate on Budget 2014 at the Parliament. That gave him lots of free space to vent his dissatisfaction against Najib's financial planning skills.
By Judith Yeoh — 29 Oct 2013, 04:53 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
1. Barisan Nasional could afford to increase the government's administrative expenditure to RM22 billion...
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today questioned why the government's operational expenditure has been going up but development budgets for important ministries are reduced.
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"A characteristic and main problem with the Barisan Nasional Budget is that administrative spending again went up from RM 216.2 billion in 2013 to RM 217.6 billion in 2014," he said.
Anwar noted that while development spending was cut, the budgeted operational expenditure for the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) for 2014 rose by RM1.5 billion compared to the budget for this year.
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“It is clear that development for the poor continues to be neglected but the payments to expensive consultants at the PMO is maintained and increased,” he said.
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2. ... but reduced the allocation for developing schools, hospitals and roads in rural areas to RM7.3 billion
"We are informed that before (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib Razak took over the government, the government usually allocated 30% to 35% of the Budget for development expenditure.
"But during Najib's era this percentage has come down by 20%. Does the government needs reminding that there is still a lot of development to be carried out in states such as Sabah and Sarawak," he asked.
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Meanwhile, development spending has continued to drop from RM 45.1 billion in 2013 to RM 44.5 billion in 2014. Allocations for road construction projects in Sabah and Sarawak — a key election pledge by Najib before the May 5 polls — were cut by RM158 million.
Allocation for developing schools, hospitals and roads in rural areas reduced to RM7.3 billion
Image via schooladvisor.my3. The wastage and leakages in government spending have not been addressed
"Wastage and leakages have not been addressed... our contention is that before you talk about new tax measures including GST, which can be rationalised in terms of an efficient tax system, you must avoid the leakages amounting to RM20 to RM30 billion," said Anwar.
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4. Imposing a GST of 6% will cause a bigger burden for the lower and middle income group
"You actually lower tax for the rich and you talk about incentives and special funds for companies, but at the same time you impose a general services tax which will impose the larger population - this is a paradox.
"You punish the rakyat for your irresponsible spending... because it means transferring the entire pressure to the masses," he added when approached at Parliament lobby.
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He said this was why Pakatan believed GST must be reviewed first and implemented only when the rakyat’s income level was satisfactory, the income tax system revamped, and the country’s economy stable.
He pointed out that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Report 2012 had revealed in its report that the GST was more regressive in developing and transition economies than in developed counties.
“The low- and middle-income earners will lose a higher percentage of their income to pay for the GST compared with high-income earners,”
5. Thus, it will further widen the income gap between the rich and the poor
Malaysia could see itself heading towards an income cliff similar to that of the United States if it rolls out the contentious goods and services tax (GST), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today in a continued attack against the new tax scheme.
yahoo.comWhile the prime minister stressed that GST will replace the existing Sales and Service Tax (SST), opposition parties have rejected the tax saying that it further burdens the people who are already faced with increasing living cost.
"Invariably you cause the widening of the the gap between the rich and poor," said Anwar.
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"If you want to alleviate the burden there should be a coherent policy that covers the whole spectrum," said Anwar.
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6. When it is implemented, GST will cause an inflation of 5%
Anwar also reiterated past claims that the GST would spike inflation. He estimated inflation to be at 5 per cent after its implementation. The present rate is already at a high 2.5 per cent.
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7. Cutting the sugar subsidy will only strengthen the monopoly of Malaysia's two main sugar companies
Sugar companies, including that of politically-linked tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, are expected to rake in a profit of RM1 billion from Putrajaya's move to cut sugar subsidy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today in his criticism of Budget 2014.
yahoo.comBut Anwar argued that Najib should liberalise the sugar industry to break up the monopoly and avert a sharp price hike stemming from the subsidy cut.
“It should be done and this can help prevent inflation in price due to subsidy cuts with the entry of new players,” he said.
"With the removal of subsidy, the profit before tax of the companies are expected to skyrocket between 20 to 25 per cent with the estimated returns of RM1 billion," Anwar said in his speech on the 2014 Budget debate.
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8. Najib "forgot" to mention that the prices of cooking oil will also increase
Anwar said Najib had also failed to mention that the government was cutting cooking oil subsidies by RM505 million through the Cooking Oil Stabilisation Scheme.
“While the people are still in shock over the price hike of sugar, why did the prime minister in his budget speech shy away from announcing a price increase of cooking oil, an amount almost the same as the sugar cut?” asked Anwar.
Najib "forgot" to mention that the prices of cooking oil will also increase
Image via channelnewsasia.com9. Millions of ringgit allocated to create agencies that already exist
The newly announced RM15 million Malaysian Green Foundation is similar to the Green Technology Corporation; the RM30 million Bumiputera Entrepreneurs Start-Up Scheme (Superb) is similar to Teraju; the RM50 million Malaysian Global Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC) is similar to the Malaysia Innovation Agency and the Malaysian Foundation for Innovation.
10. Najib wasn't there to debate Budget 2014 with him. Debating about it in Parliament is like talking to the deaf.
"Debating in Parliament here, it's like talking to the deaf," Anwar said during his debate, after Anthony Loke Siew Fook (DAP-Seremban) pointed out that no senior minister was present in the House to listen to the opposition leader's take on the budget.
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Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim was the only cabinet member present during the debate.
Even Finance Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah was absent
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"When I was the finance minister, if I tabled a budget on a Friday, I would come on Monday to listen to Gelang Patah (Lim Kit Siang, then Opposition leader)," Anwar said.
"Of course, sometimes (listening to Lim at the time) hurts my ears, but that is the practise of democracy," he added.
malaysiakini.com
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has likened his debate on the Budget 2014 akin to "talking to the deaf" due to the absence of Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak to listen to his debate.
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