Not many surprises are expected from the proposed 2002 budget as the government's focus will be to spend more on projects that will benefit certain groups, said PAS president Fadzil Noor.

Fadzil said the budget may incorporate steps to deal with the economic crisis arising from the slowdown in the American economy which was made worse after the Sept 11 attacks in New York and Washington DC.

"However, the government seems to be active in packaging new development projects that will benefit only contractors aligned to Umno," said the opposition leader at the Parliament lobby today.

"This may be said to activate the economy but taxes will be imposed and eventually the people would suffer," he added, when asked about his expectations of the new budget to be unveiled in Parliament on Friday by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is also Finance Minister.

Asked if the Barisan Alternatif had prepared an alternative budget to counter the premier's, Fadzil said BA's budget will only be revealed before the next general elections.

'Be ready to face recession'

Yesterday, Mahathir said the budget would focus on measures to protect the economy through fiscal measures and that the people must play a role by supporting the government's efforts.

He also asked Malaysians to be prepared to face economic recession.

The premier said the government was confident that with the diversification of economic activities, Malaysia would not feel the economic downturn as much as some other countries which depended on one or two sources of income only.

He said some Malaysians who have their own political agenda have refused to accept the fact that Malaysia was considered one of the successful countries in terms of its per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of RM10,500 per year.

Domestic spending encouraged

Meanwhile Deputy Finance minister Shafie Mohd Salleh told reporters at the Parliament lobby that domestic spending must be encouraged and dismissed concerns that investor confidence will suffer due to the government's focus on means to protect the economy through fiscal measures.

He defended the pegging of the ringgit at RM3.80 to the US dollar, saying it will remain as it was important to boost consumer confidence and not create instability by frequently adjusting the currency rate.

He also said that the economic outlook seemed positive despite the country's dependency on the American economy.

"The Amercian economy is expected to recover by the second half of next year," said Shafie.