KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional (PN) should show its mettle as the opposition and present its own shadow Budget 2023, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (Kuala Selangor-PH) said.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, the Amanah lawmaker said previous opposition blocs had done this.
“They (opposition) have a right to oppose (the budget) and state their views against it, but I think it would be best for us to remind them that they can present their own version of the budget.
“When we were the opposition once upon a time, starting from Barisan Alternatif, Pakatan Rakyat, and eventually Pakatan Harapan, we had always put forth our alternative budget, without fail,” he said while debating the national supply bill in Parliament today.
He said PN is more than welcome to unveil a budget alternative to the one tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Tambun-PH) last Friday.
Urging the opposition to consider doing so, Dzulkefly said its shadow cabinet is sure to have a shadow finance minister who can look into tabling the alternative budget.
According to the list of MPs in Perikatan Nasional’s shadow cabinet released on February 2, Datuk Mohd Radzi Jidin (Putrajaya-PN) is the lawmaker in charge of finance and economic affairs.
On Monday, opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (Larut-PN) cast doubt over the government’s ability to implement measures outlined in Budget 2023, alluding that certain policies may be too good to be true.
Fellow opposition lawmaker Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan (Tasek Gelugor-PN) accused Anwar’s Budget 2023 speech of employing “left-wing” rhetoric that could start “class warfare” in the nation. – The Vibes, March 1, 2023
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