COMMENT | The Alternative Budget unveiled by the opposition today can be summarised in three words – irresponsible, unrealistic and unsustainable.
They told us they would spend wisely, they would cut taxes and they want Malaysians to choose hope.
They would never tell Malaysians the fact that the operating expenditures (OPEX) in Penang and Selangor have increased manifold since they took over the state in 2008 :
Penang - RM252.3 million in 2007 to RM825.9 million in 2015
Selangor - RM1.15 billion in 2007 to RM2.34 billion in 2015.
In fact, if they had spent wisely in their respective states, their operating expenditures would have decreased instead of the opposite.
And then there’s this promise of cutting taxes which is to eliminate the GST and to reduce the excise duty for vehicles.
On top of that, they also promise to abolish tolls, provide free education and save RM20 billion from fighting corruption.
Of course, there is no plan on how they would finance the cost to buy back all toll concessionaires in Malaysia, no concrete plan on how they would repay RM40 billion PTPTN loans that are owed to financial institutions, or how they would even manage to save RM20 billion every year from fighting corruption.
Notwithstanding the fact that abolishing tolls, providing education and increasing minimum wage will cost hundreds of billions of ringgit over the long term.
These promises would not create jobs, boost income or reduce cost of living, instead it would cause businesses to stop hiring, existing workers would lose their jobs, credit rating agencies to downgrade government bond ratings, which will lead to higher borrowing costs for the government and many other catastrophic effects, not only to the government but also directly to the people.
In Penang for instance, the so-called CAT practised by the state government didn’t stop the chief minister from abusing his power for personal gains.
Year after year, they continue to hoodwink the people, and this only goes to show that the opposition is only as good as their words.
The World Bank, the IMF and credit rating agencies have commended the current government for taking the right approach towards a sustainable fiscal policy by implementing GST and rationalising subsidies. Meanwhile, the opposition is promising to implement the exact opposite of those policies.
Malaysians should realise that the only budget that matters and will impact them positively is the budget that will be unveiled in the parliament by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Friday.
We should never jeopardise our future by counting on the false promises of the opposition.
This is a responsible government that does not just think about the current, but also the future of this country. One thing that we are sure we can count on the opposition, is, they will most definitely stage a walkout just like they did in the 2017 budget presentation.
ABDUL RAHMAN DAHLAN is a minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
