PARLIAMENT Former second finance minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah (BN-Tambun) has warned that Budget 2017 would become "nothing" if government funds are spread too thin.

"Focus (our funds) properly. Don't give a bit here a bit there, in the end it becomes nothing," he told the Dewan Rakyat today.

"We give (allocations) to everybody until it becomes very thin."

This is the first time Husni had addressed the House since quitting the government in June, after being told that he would have been transferred to a different ministry in a cabinet reshuffle.

He said the government should do research to find out which sectors are worth investing in, saying this was how countries like South Korea were able to propel itself from a middle-income country to a high-income one.

Husni also said all ministries need to look at its strengths and weaknesses in a holistic manner, and urged the government "not to live with tunnel vision".

He said the economy was already suffering in terms of business and employment.

"How many businesses have been closed? How many employees have been sacked?"

"Is (unemployment a problem) because the rate our economy is growing is lower than the rate of people graduating from universities?" he asked.

He also noted that the wage gap between the rich and the poor was too wide, noting how most Malaysians are from the lower income group.