KUALA LUMPUR – The RM322.5 billion Budget 2021 will be funded by domestic borrowings, said Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz in a TV interview today.
This comes after questions raised, particularly by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, on the feasibility and efficacy of the “behemoth budget” in the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday.
“I think given the liquidity that we have here in Malaysia, we are planning to tap only into the domestic market,” said Tengku Zafrul in TV3 talk show Money Matters today.
“The interest rate is still very low. Today’s overnight policy rate (OPR) is around 1.75, so there is an opportunity to continue to tap into the domestic market, hence reducing our risk to forex (foreign exchange) exposure as well.”
Meanwhile, on calls to increase the number of contributors allowed to withdraw from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Account 1, Tengku Zafrul said the matter is still under consideration.
“I can’t say anything yet on what EPF will be announcing because we are still in the midst of a discussion. But I feel that more people can be included in this EPF Account 1 withdrawal facility.
“However, we must also bear in mind that the government has announced that contributors can take RM6,000 over 12 months – RM500 per month – from Account 2 in the Prihatin package and the i-Lestari program.
“And to date, more than RM11 billion has been taken out from Account 2. About 4.7 million Malaysians have withdrawn from their (respective) Account 2.”
Budget 2021 was tabled in Dewan Rakyat on November 6 and despite repeated decrees from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for it to be supported, several MPs on both sides of the aisle had voiced opposition to some of the allocations.
Tengku Zafrul reiterated the importance and significance of Budget 2021 in stemming the spread of Covid-19 that has hit the country since late February.
“We want to see this budget approved. Because this budget is the people’s budget. It is not the government’s budget. It is not an election budget.
“I hope that my colleagues in the Dewan Rakyat will agree that this is a budget to help us fight Covid-19 and get us through the economic crisis that we are facing today.” – The Vibes, November 14, 2020
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