KINIBIZ One day away from the tabling of Budget 2014, and questions abound as to what the Malaysian public can expect from the nation’s annual spending list.

With the real threat of a downgrade of Malaysia’s sovereign rating and concerns over a narrowing current account surplus - it seems almost certain that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will introduce measures geared towards showing that the government is ready to put the necessary fiscal consolidation and discipline measures in place to tackle the growing concerns and to avert any downgrade by the international credit rating agencies.

Furthermore, with both the general election and Umno election victories under his belt, and no other election battles looming, the PM is seemingly in a position of strength and can therefore make tough calls.

That being said, the budget will also be a chance to reward some of the groups that have thrown their support behind him over the past year. Furthermore, the government will also want to appear to have a grasp for the challenges faced by Malaysians, especially those in the lower and lower middle income groups; and therefore it is unlikely that the Budget will be devoid of any sweeteners at all.

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