Barisan Nasional (BN) parliamentarians and their opposition counterparts locked horns as they debated the Budget 2004 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Abdul Rahman Yusof (Keadilan) described the proposals outlined in the budget, unveiled by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week, as "old initiatives disguised in new clothes".

He claimed that the highlights of the government's budgets in the past seven years have been the same principles presented anew in order to disguise the failings and vices.

The opposition MP highlighted three principles that consistently appeared in the budgets.

The first, he said the government always painted a rosy picture of the country's economic future despite the grievances felt by various sections in society.

As an example, Abdul Rahman cited the issue of Malay unity which he claimed was 'destroyed' by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"In his book The Malay Dilemma , Mahathir had attempted to find fault in the Malays for their problems relative to the other races.

"The government always uses this as a way to cover their own faults and blunders in making decisions and in order to shift the responsibility for their misdeeds to the Malays," he claimed.

Neo-colonisation

Abdul Rahman said the second principle was the emphasis on the West's neo-colonisation by the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation through the phenomenon of globalisation.

"But the government itself splurges billions of ringgit of the people's money on mega-projects that seek to glorify certain personalities and save crony companies," he added.

He said nothing was done to address such imbalances because there was no political will to reform the structures of Malaysia's government towards those ends.

The third principle, he noted was the constant reminder to be thankful for the government's achievements and contributions hence sweeping aside the problems that increasingly plague the people.

"For instance, there are nearly100,000 unemployed diploma and degree graduates. The proposed budget does nothing to address them," he stressed.

Meanwhile, Mohd Appandi Mohamad (PAS-Jeli) also critcised the budget and the prime minister's 'legacy'.

"What legacy can we be proud of when the proportion of Malays' share of the country's pie has decreased to 10%? Proton , to this day, has not exported to any country without its vehicles being returned because of its inability to compete.

"Mismanagement in Perwaja has amounted to more than RM18 billion in losses. What legacy is there to be so proud of?" he asked.

Internationally acclaimed

However, BN parliamentarians dismissed these charges, praising the budget as well as Mahathir, who is also finance minister.

Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (BN-Larut) said the premier's achievements have received worldwide acclaim.

"The International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) has itself admitted of Mahathir's good decisions. Shouldn't we feel indebted to him?" he asked.

Mohd Zin Mohamed (BN- Shah Alam) described the budget as the exercise of economic democracy and social re-engineering.

He said this was reflective of the government's "magnanimity" and care for the people.

As examples, he cited the proposals in the budget which stand to benefit the lower income group, single mothers and disabled persons.