Budget 2007 is characterised by neglect, wastage and misdirected priorities in the eyes of three speakers at a Parti Keadilan Keadilan (PKR) forum.

In discussing the country's economic future and analysing the budget proposals unveiled in Parliament on Sept 1, the speakers pointed out that the government must manage its resources better.

Keynote speaker and PKR treasurer Abdul Khalid Ibrahim pointed out that Malaysia has better resources than Singapore, but that the per capita income of Malaysians is lower than that of Singaporeans.

"They manage their resources better," he told his audience of about 60 party supporters and members of the public at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur last Friday night.

Abdul Khalid is the former chief executive of Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd and former CEO of government-linked company Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

His main criticism of the Budget 2007 proposals was that the government's operating budget had ballooned from RM50 billion (five years ago) to RM112 billion currently.

" Our budget is sky-rocketing because of (the cost of) maintenance of buildings in Putrajaya. This just amounts to expenditure, there is no rental income," he pointed out.

"The government should live within its means, so that it can have extra (money) to build schools and hospitals."

Abdul Khalid further claimed that the government has been "careless and wasteful" in managing the budget, citing an instance where RM500 million had been spent on computers for rural schools when 20 percent of the premises did not even have electricity.

He also said money could have allocated for building low-cost housing to alleviate the shortage of such units among the low-income group and hardcore poor, especially in the Klang Valley.

Calling on the public to hold the administration more accountable during general elections, he said that Malaysians - who contribute to the resources that create the wealth - should "elect a more responsible government" to manage these resources.

SME role 'neglected'

Chinese-language newspaper Oriental Daily News columnist Soon Hoh Sing, who specialises in economic analysis, said the government has neglected the role of small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in expanding economic growth.

He said that building up SMEs in the manufacturing and electronics sectors would provide better paid jobs to unemployed graduates, rather than pumping money into companies like national car-maker Proton.

"The government should attract foreign investors so that SMEs can use the capital for research and development and to produce better quality products that have higher value," Soon said.

"The government cannot depend on oil revenues to supplement its budgetary needs as fuel consumption is also very high. With the current rate of usage, Malaysia will turn from an exporter into an importer."

Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Syed Shahir Syed Mahmud said that private sector workers have been neglected in the 2007 budget.

He said the absence of a 'cost of living allowance' (Cola) had made many workers' unions unhappy with the government.

"We have raised this issue many times with the government, but it has ignored us. It does not care (how much a Cola means to workers)," he said.

"We have also called for a minimum wage to be introduced, especially in the Klang Valley where the cost of living has gone up. No doubt, no one has died of starvation, but people have to hold down two jobs to make ends meet."

Syed Shahrir also said all workers should have access to training courses that expand their skills, and that the budget should provide for this as well as for technical courses to re-train the retrenched workforce.