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Zahid: This is a budget for the gov't, not the rakyat
Published:  Nov 2, 2018 11:26 PM
Updated: 4:03 PM

BUDGET 2019 | Opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has panned Budget 2019 and accused the Pakatan Harapan administration of merely modifying what was done by the previous government.

"In general, this budget is a modification of what was done by the previous government. The structure was already there. There is nothing interesting for the public.

"This budget was meant to make the government popular. It is for the government, not the rakyat," said Zahid in a statement this evening.

He said Budget 2019 did not contain any guidelines to create new jobs and only focussed on training or consulting sessions.

"(Such programmes) take time, but the rakyat wants immediate solutions," he said.

Although he commended the government for cash handouts to the underprivileged, he said Budget 2019 did not include plans to address cost-of-living issues.

He said the government's new schemes for public transport users only benefited those who live near LRT or MRT stations.

He also questioned how the government will fund its RM314.5 billion expenditure since the government claims that its debt stood at RM1 trillion.

Meanwhile, Umno information chief and Lenggong MP accused Harapan of reneging on its election promise through the new PTPTN repayment scheme announced in Budget 2019.

He said the new scheme, which involved scheduled pay deductions for those earning RM1,000 and above, was below the RM4,000 threshold promised by Harapan.

He said the BN administration had instituted this before but never made it compulsory.

Shamsul also criticised the Harapan administration for limiting repayment waivers to top scholars from the B40 category, whereas the previous BN administration did not impose such restrictions.
 


 

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