Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has not shown any intention in restraining the government's expenditure by asking for supplementary budgets every year without fail since 2009, said PAS central executive committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad today.

 

Commenting on the tabling of the 2014 supplementary bill for RM2.2 billion today, the second for the year, Dzulkefly ( left ) said Najib is asking for more money despite the declining value of the ringgit and fall in prices of crude oil ,resulting in less income to the country.

 

“75 percent of the supplementary budget asked for since 2009 when Najib became prime minister, is for operational costs. It should have been planned ahead. Not much is left for development. If it was, maybe federal lawmakers can understand.

 

“Najib should be more prudent in asking for more money from the legislature bearing in mind the declining value of the ringgit, the fall in prices of crude oil, and the IMDB fiasco.

 

“The supplementary budget will certainly hurt the country's deficit further,” the PAS CEC member told Malaysiakini .

 

The PAS Research Centre director and former Kuala Selangor MP.called on lawmakers to tighten the government's purse in light of problems faced by 1MDB.

Dismayed at supplementary budgets

Kluang MP, Liew Chin Tong, also told Malaysiakini that he is deeply dismayed that the finance minister has a habit of seeking two supplementary budgets which reflects poorly on his planning and ability to predict an accurate budget.

 

"It shouldn't be standard operating procedure to have two supplementary budgets.

 

“If the government feels that the annual budgeting method is not viable in the constantly changing global economy, then it should come back to Parliament to reform its rules to allow for two presentations of the budget per year, one major one and a mid-year review, as practised in Australia.

 

"The downside of presenting supplementary budgets is that the original budget surplus or deficit figure would never be correct thus giving an inaccurate picture of the fiscal health of the government," DAP lawmaker Liew ( right ) warned.

 

The 2014 supplementary budget seeks an allocation of RM2.2 billion. RM1.2 billion is sought for the Treasury, followed by RM428 million for the Education Ministry, and RM287 million for the Public Services Department.