Najib, budget not ‘difficult’ if you did your job
YOURSAY | ‘Cut out corruption, overstaffing, put projects out for public tender, spend oil and GST money wisely.’
PM laments tearing hair over 'most difficult budget’
Ferdtan:
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak lamented that Petronas’ dividends dropped from RM26 billion to RM9 billion and would make next year’s budget difficult.
Thus the solution to make a balanced budget, not a deficit one, was to increase toll tariffs recently. Obviously it is the easier way out to tax again the poor Malaysians who are still suffering from the high cost of goods due to GST implementation.
What are the ministers especially the finance minister/PM doing? To burden the people through taxes should be the last option. What about cost cutting in all ministries?
Better still, sell off the extra expensive private government planes. They always go for the easy route. No money? No problem - just increase taxes on the people. There are enough stupid Malaysians (49 percent) around who will keep voting for them.
After all, the election is still two years away. People forget easily. Just bribe them with BR1M and all will be forgiven. Life goes on. Business as usual. BN once again thrives.
Citizen No.26: PM, please don't pull out your hair. Just tailor your clothes to match your pocket. Otherwise you would need to ask for donations.
Quigonbond: PM, if you listen to any one of the opposition leaders who had a hand in drafting the Pakatan budget, you know your answers. Cut down on corruption, cut down on discretionary operational budget, cut down on the number of parliamentary secretaries, deputy ministers and ministers that you have in a bloated cabinet, start putting projects on public tender, and finally cough up the RM2.6 billion,
Malaysia should be able to save quite a bit for schools, electricity infrastructure, water supply infrastructure, and perhaps even high speed internet throughout Malaysia.
Also, toll hikes means more money going to highway concessionaires, and less spending power, less taxes paid by businesses. You are your own undoing. You are Malaysia's undoing. Tearing your hair out should be your last concern.
Alicescat: It would not have been a difficult budget if your administration had done a better job at managing the country's finances. As it is, you have put the blame on everybody but yourself but make the rakyat pay for your mismanagement.
Wira: Finance minister. You collected RM5 billion in the first two months of GST collection. If I extrapolate that, it would mean RM30 billion from GST a year. What is a RM15 billion deficit from Petronas? We have RM15 billion surplus from GST before Umno get their dirty hands on it.
If you are still uncomfortable, please get Umno or the PM to return that RM2.6 billion unearned income to our treasury.
Oh Ya?: Stop plundering the country's oil revenue, which belongs to the rakyat. Learn from Norway, which puts all its oil revenue into a sovereign fund reporting to Parliament, and managed and invested by independent and professional fund managers.
Only a certain percentage of the investment returns goes to the state coffers whereas the principle is preserved for future generations.
Dingy: Leadership by example. Cut down your own expenses before you reduce public expenditure on essential services. No money? Trim PMO staff and remove ministers in PMD - too many of them. Remove corporate figures as ministers as they cost far too much. Reduce PMO remuneration.
Thinking Aloud : 1. Ask your Arab friend for donations. 2. Go after corrupt monies and eradicate corruption. 3. Arrest all corrupt ministers and seize their properties in Malaysia and other countries. Include their family members and proxies.
Retnam : Where is the RM2.6 billion?
Roy69: I don't want any projects but I will tell you how to get our finances strong: (1) Get the GST, all taxes and oil revenue monies accounted for by an independent body.
(2) Get back all corrupted monies and assets from all who have stolen our wealth and (3) have a clean election where BN will lose and there will be a new government. Trillions will be in our coffers. Willing to do this? No? So stop acting like you care.
Gunnerrun: I find every line of the article ironic. Under you, the national debt is residing somewhere at RM700-800 billion. You have a very heavy manpower structure in every government agency, department and ministry.
Jobs that are supposed to be done by one person are covered by not less than three. The amounts you have lavished on unproductive and counterproductive activities are in the thousands.
Need we say more? Under your watch, all kinds of taxes have been implemented, with the latest toll increases not seen before your time.
Imagine paying RM5.50 to use MEX one way and double that for a trip to and fro. Your legacy will be that of a spendthrift. For once, reflect on what you have done.
As if this is not enough, you are playing the racial card to ensure your survival. We did not ask our ancestors to migrate to this land. But since we are here now, this is all we know and we cherish it deep in our hearts, especially when we are abroad. Shame on you, Mr PM.
Ipoh PP: Quote: “Of course it is easy for people to say that the government is not sensitive to the people , but you must realise that something has to give.” unquote.
So how about giving US the RM2.6bil donation that you received? By now it should be worth at least RM3.5 billion.
Sound Mind: I thought you said the fundamentals are strong and that our household income is on the rise and that we will achieve vision 2020?
Unspin : Najib, the reason why you find it tough is because the finance minister’s position is too big. You are a career politician who does not have any appreciation on how the economic wheel turns.
You wasted a lot of money such as BR1M because of your simplistic and irresponsible “I help you, you help me” philosophy. You are surrounded by sycophants who tell you that you are smart but in actuality, you are not.
By the way, can you please explain to us what you did with your RM2.6 billion donation? When are you going to sue former MCA president Ling Liong Sik who together with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said that you misappropriated the money?
Justine Gow: Can a cat be trusted to roam freely in a shop selling fish? Can we trust letting someone like this to handle billions of ringgit? I wonder how much taxpayers' money he and the self-proclaimed Flom had used to burn jet fuel for unnecessary overseas trips in recent years.
He should start by slashing the budget for the PMO and the so-called Flom activities, if he wishes to endear himself to the majority of the people in this country. Better still, he should step down instead of whining about how difficult it is to plan the budget. If he announces stepping down tomorrow, I am sure that his popularity rating would immediately shoot up to 100 percent.
Taxpayer: If too much to handle, just dissolve Parliament and let people choose in the GE. That way, no one can complain.
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