Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today brushed aside talk of Budget 2011 being an "election budget", saying it is a sincere effort to meet the public demands.

“I don’t know if you could call it a by-election budget, considering the announcement of two by-elections before this... but (from) the announcements made by the prime minister, the people from all levels of society know they will benefit,” he told reporters today.

“There is no other reason behind the budget other than to give the people development and comfort.”

Muhyiddin hailed Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s budget, the second he has tabled since April last year, saying Budget 2011 gives the country a clear direction to attaining a high-income economy by 2020.

He said the various announcements made by the Prime Minister indicate that no Malaysian will be left behind, as it includes both urban and rural areas and covers all the main sectors that drive the nation’s economy.

“We are confident that with this budget, the road towards becoming a high income nation is clearer and it will serve as a strong base to improve on the people’s well-being.

“This is a sign that the BN leadership is attentive of all levels of society... this is a people’s budget,” he said.

Opposition leaders and many economic analyst believe that the import duty exemptions, freeze on toll rate increase for several highways and RM500 special allowance for civil servants all points to snap elections next year. 

Najib does not have to to seek a fresh mandate for the BN coalition until 2013, but early polls may be necessitated by plans to push through unfavourable laws such as the Goods and Services Tax.