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Hamzah: No point for opposition to draw up ‘syok sendiri’ alternative budget
Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin has dismissed calls for Perikatan Nasional to present an alternative Budget 2027, arguing that it would have no chance of being implemented.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament today, the Larut MP said the opposition's role was to scrutinise government policies and propose changes where necessary.
“Firstly, it cannot be implemented, and it will not be implemented. So, in reality...
Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin has dismissed calls for Perikatan Nasional to present an alternative Budget 2027, arguing that it would have no chance of being implemented.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament today, the Larut MP said the opposition's role was to scrutinise government policies and propose changes where necessary.
“Firstly, it cannot be implemented, and it will not be implemented. So, in reality, we would just be syok sendiri (self-indulgent),” he said.
Hamzah was responding to Sabah Pakatan Harapan chairperson Mustapha Sakmud, who reportedly challenged him to present a detailed alternative budget showing how the opposition would reduce the fiscal deficit without compromising national development.
Mustapha issued the challenge after Hamzah criticised Budget 2027 and warned against burdening strategic national institutions such as Petronas, Tenaga Nasional, and Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) with what he described as politically driven decisions.
Hamzah said the opposition instead wanted to use the budget debate to challenge policies it believed did not adequately benefit the country and its people.
/file/attachments/orphans/AI16_432295.png "PM Anwar Ibrahim delivers Budget 2026 speech book generic 091026")
“What we want is to give our views on the budget. If many MPs in the House disagree with it, then the budget will not be passed.
“What we are doing is correcting policies that we feel do not provide better benefits for the country and the people,” he said.
He added that the opposition’s differences with the government reflected broader disagreements over economic policy.
Citing government debt as an example, Hamzah argued that borrowing was not necessarily bad if the money was used to build productive assets and generate future growth.
“If we want to develop the country and the debt we incur is used to develop national assets, what is wrong with that?
“For example, taking on debt to increase the value of assets in the future,” he said.
/file/attachments/orphans/AI1ade2d_642240.png "PM Anwar Ibrahim delivers Budget 2026 speech book generic 091026")
‘New engines of growth’
Hamzah said the opposition had also discussed major infrastructure projects that could serve as new engines of economic growth, including improving east-west logistics links and developing a new port in Kota Bharu.
“If we want to ensure there are engines of growth in the future, what do we need to do? Infrastructure.
“We in the opposition have thought about this and discussed it extensively - whether there is anything wrong with cutting across from east to west and opening up logistics links.
“We could create another port in Kota Bharu, for example, to develop that area,” he said.
/file/attachments/orphans/oppo12_879312.png "Opposition Leader Chief PC press conference Hamzah Zainuddin 151026")
He said these ideas reflected the opposition’s longer-term economic vision.
“These are the things we are thinking about for the future, to create engines of growth.
“If they do not have such a vision, we are ready to take over as the government,” he added.
Asked whether the opposition would support Budget 2027 when put to a vote, Hamzah said it was too soon to tell.
“When we debate, we have our strategy.
“Why ask so early whether we are going to vote for it or not? Let us debate it first,” he said.
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Doesn't this show that PN is incompetent? This is why they failed when they were in government. The Country will only go backwards if it continues to be run by any of the incompetent parties — PH, PN or BN
That's a defeatist attitude. Opposition budget is to give the voters an idea of what's in store, if they vote for you. Not willing to present an opposition budget can only mean you haven't politically matured. Therefore, you're more inclined to tear down rather than build up. And yell from the sidelines, when you're not good enough to be on the field.
In any healthy parliamentary democracy, shadow budgets and alternative economic blueprints are precisely how voters evaluate whether an opposition or PN understands policy detail, can do the math, and is ready to govern if given the mandate. I say this because none of the SG4-governed states have implemented meaningful economic reforms. In this context, at least Bersama should be appreciated for its bold move in presenting its inaugural shadow budget and at the same time proving its capabilities to be the third force unlike PN. Instead of merely criticising from the sidelines, Bersama is attempting to put numbers, priorities, and trade-offs on paper—something that exposes them to scrutiny but also signals seriousness. That is a higher standard of political engagement than relying solely on rhetoric about what the government is doing wrong. Dismissing such efforts as “syok sendiri” underestimates the role of policy competition in a maturing democracy. Alternative budgets: - give the public a benchmark to compare the government’s fiscal choices against; - force opposition blocs to confront fiscal realities rather than make vague promises; and - create policy pressure on the government when parts of the shadow budget gain public traction. If PN is not prepared to do the same—i.e., to table its own detailed, costed proposals—it weakens its claim to be a serious governing alternative. By contrast, Bersama’s move, even if imperfect in content or assumptions, contributes to a more substantive political culture in which ideas are contested, not just identities and slogans. Seen this way, the article’s dismissive tone towards alternative budgets misses the broader democratic value of such initiatives.
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