Anwar dismisses govt’s 'trivial excuse' over delay in tabling 12th M'sia Plan
PARLIAMENT | De facto Economy Minister Mustapa Mohamed’s point-by-point explanation on the reason behind the delay in the tabling of 12th Malaysia Plan was dismissed by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as “trivial”.
Anwar (Harapan-Port Dickson) said some of the matters raised by Mustapa in the Dewan Rakyat today involved similar considerations by the previous Pakatan Harapan government and many involved steps which should have been taken, including debating the RM295 billion economic stimulus package.
Furthermore, he said the need to immediately take steps against the...
PARLIAMENT | De facto Economy Minister Mustapa Mohamed’s point-by-point explanation on the reason behind the delay in the tabling of 12th Malaysia Plan was dismissed by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as “trivial”.
Anwar (Harapan-Port Dickson) said some of the matters raised by Mustapa in the Dewan Rakyat today involved similar considerations by the previous Pakatan Harapan government and many involved steps which should have been taken, including debating the RM295 billion economic stimulus package.
Furthermore, he said the need to immediately take steps against the Covid-19 impact should not be a deterrent for these matters to be debated in the august House.
Anwar then accused the Perikatan Nasional of having a “clear reluctance” to do so.
The 12th Malaysia Plan was to have been tabled on Aug 6 but has been postponed, along with the tabling of Budget 2021, to allow for reassessments to be done in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new Malaysia Plan is now slated to be tabled early next year, while Budget 2021 to the last Parliament session in November, this year.
“The excuses (given by Mustapa) to me are too trivial. This is linked to steps which should have been taken before this, including debating the stimulus package, postponed Budget (2021).
“The prime minister (Muhyiddin Yassin) gave the excuse that they did not wish for the implementation (of the stimulus package) to be delayed. As we explained, there is no reason for the implementation to be delayed but debating this in Parliament must carry on,” Anwar said.
He had earlier questioned the minister on the reason for the postponement of the tabling of the 12th Malaysia Plan to next year, and to what extent this decision was influenced by fiscal concerns, Covid-19 and government restructuring.
Among the reasons given by Mustapa, who is also Jeli lawmaker, was the formation of the new PN government in March.
“The ministers were new, some ministries were restructured and the new government’s vision was also different from that of the old government.
“(Economic) estimations made before Covid-19 must also be relooked at... Malaysia’s economic growth, crude oil prices (dropped) and increasing unemployment,” he said.
Mustapa (photo) added that the government needed to take stock of changing economic landscape in Malaysia and the rest of the world due to the viral pandemic, including the reliance on the digital platform and the recovering of the tourism industry and food security issues.
Even so, he said the 12th Malaysia Plan still abided by the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 launched in October last year, during the previous government’s tenure, to ensure fiscal prosperity for all and to close the income gap.
The new government had announced Prihatin and Penjana packages in stages, in a bid to revitalise the economy impacted by the pandemic, worth a total of RM295 billion.
However, it came under fire when the debate on the spending and allocation was not permitted due to the last Parliament session being limited to just one day in May, due to alleged Covid-19 fears and safety of parliamentarians.
Anwar today also claimed that the stimulus package was “sub-optimal” compared to more dynamic steps taken by other countries to address the economic ramifications of Covid-19.
He cited Germany with its economic stabilisation fund to speed up fund distribution as an example, along with India which he claimed focused on agriculture and SMEs, and Canada on climate change.
Anwar’s criticism prompted Mustapa to take a slight dig at the PKR chief, saying he was probably “a little confused” as the issue on hand was the delay on tabling the 12th Malaysia Plan, not the debate on the stimulus package.
He said as the plan would only take effect in 2021, so “it's not time yet”.
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