KUALA LUMPUR – In the event of snap polls, it is up to the new government of the day to decide whether to re-table Budget 2023, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said.
“This is all speculation. It is up to the new government or whichever government to present (the budget)...it’s up to them,” Tengku Zafrul told reporters after attending a fireside session titled Wild exchange: Tengku Zafrul in the hot seat with Patrick at the Wild Digital SEA 2022 here today.
The government had on August 26 announced that it will present its 2023 national budget on October 7, three weeks ahead of schedule, sparking speculation that it may call an early general election.
This has raised questions on whether the budget will be re-tabled by the new government despite having been tabled on October 7 by the current government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Signs are also pointing to an early election, with the possibility of the prime minister tabling the budget, which is normally done by the finance minister.
On whether this would be the case, Tengku Zafrul said that it would be a matter that would be decided by the prime minister.
“I think that question should be posed to the prime minister, and the prime minister has answered. It is up to him, but what’s important is that this budget focuses on our people, to (help them) conduct their businesses and to strengthen the economy,” he said.
Among the issues expected to be addressed in Budget 2023 are targeted subsidies, which, according to Tengku Zafrul, is not the right time to introduce, as the country is still in the recovery phase.
“Our inflation is also low compared to other countries. Our inflation in the first seven months of the year stood at 2.8%.
“My view is that in the longer term, we need to re-examine these subsidies so that they are more targeted…but for now, the current subsidies need to be continued.
“We are still researching on how to make them targeted.
“(As seen) at the (Wild Digital) conference today, there are many technologies that can be implemented to ensure the success of this targeted subsidy, because what we don’t want is having targeted subsidies but executing them wrongly.
“For now, we will continue to provide subsidies, which are expected to reach nearly RM80 billion this year,” he added.
Tengku Zafrul said money obtained from Petronas’ additional RM25 billion dividend payment to the government will be used for the subsidies.
This new dividend is in addition to the RM25 billion that had been approved in February, making it a total dividend payout of RM50 billion from Petronas for the year.
“The RM25 billion subsidy announced by Petronas recently will help the government’s finances, and most of that money will be used to address the shortfall that is required to fund the subsidy we are giving to the rakyat,” he added.
On July 27, Tengku Zafrul said that the existing subsidy mechanism, in which subsidies are given to Malaysians across the board, is unsustainable.
He said with Putrajaya’s expenditure on subsidies expected to increase by over RM40 billion compared to the RM31 billion allocated in its 2022 budget, revenue from taxes and oil will not be sufficient to cover the rising costs for subsidies. – The Vibes, September 6, 2022
