The Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (Mipas) does not want to miss the opportunity to make its proposals to Budget 2017, which is scheduled to be tabled by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in Parliament tomorrow, Oct 21, 2016.

Mipas hopes that this budget will benefit the people in the areas of cost of living, healthcare, housing, urban well-being, transportation, infrastructure, economic development and education.

We are not interested in a 'Candy Budget' (Bajet Gula-gula) as this will be an election approaching budget for the 14th general election.

Mipas has the following suggestions for Budget 2017:

1. Reduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to three or four percent;

2. Increase in BR1M to at least RM1,500 as promised, before GE14;

3. More scholarships and study loans for deserving students. The government should also use the funds saved through various subsidies withdrawn or to be withdrawn , such as from sugar, rice, flour, petrol and gas and cooking oil, to provide a free education system and also to use that money to lessen the burden on students or young people who are in debt to finance their education, such as the PTPTN loan and the repayment period;

4. Reduction of personal tax and road tax;

5. Increase allocations to vital government agencies such as schools and hospitals;

6. Curb over-expenditure in unnecessary expenses in all departments, mainly in the Prime Minister’s Department;

7. Strict enforcement of all staff in all government agencies in order to curb leakages and corruption;

8. Make transparent the awarding of government contracts to deserving contractors with the best quotations;

9. Provide more allocations for the building of low-cost houses and infrastructures;

10. Close down unnecessary government departments and offices. Cut down the number of government servants in these places;

11. Have a smaller government workforce, with good salaries, to increase efficiency;

12. Stop all unnecessary purchases of military and civil assets; and

13. Be prudent in spending tax money.

Mipas also has this Wish List for the Indian community for Budget 2017:

1. Increase the intake of Indians in civil service and in higher education institutions;

2. Establish special funds to help poor Indians to purchase houses and to start business;

3. Set up a special allocation of RM100 million for developing Indian entrepreneurs;

4. Set up a special allocation RM100 million to cater for Indian women to move into petty trading;

5. Establish a special allocation of RM100 million to cater for weaker and downtrodden Indian students in order to place them into the mainstream of the nation’s development;

6. Set up a special allocation under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) for the Indian community in the form of government infrastructure support to get more Indians in nation-building efforts and collaboration of ideas, creativity and innovation;

7. Provide a special allocation of RM100 million to Indian NGOs to further empower the community through various socio-economic activities and ventures; and

8. Provide a special allocation of RM500 million to Indian cooperatives and Indian SMEs to strengthen their businesses and empower more programmes for the community.

S BARATHIDASAN is secretary-general of the Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (Mipas).