KUALA LUMPUR – Budget 2022’s theme of “Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Sejahtera” (A Prosperous Malaysian Family) sounds sweet to the ear, but is not truly reflected in the policies that were announced, said a Pakatan Harapan (PH) MP.
Steven Sim (Bukit Mertajam-PH) said if the government was truly committed to building a harmonious Malaysian family, priority should be given to being fair to all citizens.
Unfortunately, he said this is not the case with the recently announced Budget, with unequal funding being allocated between the different races.
The DAP lawmaker noted that while RM11.4 billion is allocated for various programmes to empower Bumiputeras, only a meagre fraction of this amount is given to other communities.
“If we look at the other communities, the comparison is saddening. The Chinese were only allocated RM200 million, Indians given RM145 million and Orang Asli RM274 million.”
Drawing comparison to a typical Malaysian family, Sim said this could be translated to mean that the eldest child would get RM10 in pocket money a day, while the second and third children get 18 sen and 13 sen, respectively.
“You can’t even buy a plate of ‘mee bodoh’ at Warung Pak Hasan in Melaka. That costs RM2 a plate, not including egg,” he said when debating the Supply Bill (2022) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Sim also pointed out that businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic are not specific to a certain group, but involve individuals from various races, religions and backgrounds.
He questioned how the government intends for Malaysians to live as a family when there is a clear policy of favouritism.
In another “Malaysian family” comparison, Sim noted how the government had misled the public pertaining to dividends to be collected by the government from various bodies.
“It announced a RM18 billion dividend from Petronas for 2021, but went on to quietly take RM25 billion.
“It announced a RM1 billion dividend from Khazanah Nasional but quietly took RM2 billion. It also didn’t announce anything on Bank Negara Malaysia but quietly took RM4 billion.
“What kind of Malaysian family is this? It’s like a father informing the mother that he is using RM10,000 in family savings for business capital. The mother agrees, but then the father goes on to take RM20,000.
“How are these things happening? The Finance Minister (Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz) must explain.” – The Vibes, November 2, 2021
