'Wastage cuts' for Pakatan shadow budget target
Pakatan Rakyat has defended its proposed shadow budget target to cut 10 percent off the government's RM100 billion operating expenditure that does not involve salary payments.
Pakatan Rakyat has defended its proposed shadow budget target to cut 10 percent off the government's RM100 billion operating expenditure that does not involve salary payments.
For example, if wastage in the Education Ministry, Works Ministry and Defence Ministry can be plugged, said the DAP’s Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming, the target can be achieved.
"I know some economists doubt our ability to achieve this target," Ong told a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.
However, he cited examples from the Auditor-General’s Report 2012 to back his argument and reiterated that Pakatan would also review or drop the National Service (NS) programme to cut costs.
He said the NS programme costs the government RM712 million annually, which is almost as much as the Youth and Sports Ministry's overall annual budget of RM738 million.
Ong referred to the Education Ministry’s “ineffective” 1Susu Malaysia programme, which cost RM170 million but has only achieved 40 percent of its target, and the hiring of consultants to mentor English language teachers.
He said RM2.5 billion could have been saved from the Education Ministry's budget alone.
Another RM1.1 billion could have been saved from the Works Ministry budget if it had collected compensation from contractors for delayed projects, Ong added.
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