Budget 2021 doesn’t put country on path to recovery: Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR – Budget 2021 lacks sound ideas to stimulate economic recovery after the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

It is devoid of proposals to refresh the economy, address growing unemployment and meet the needs of a growing number of retrenched workers, he said in a video.

While he congratulated Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz on the finance minister’s maiden Budget presentation, Anwar said there are structural weaknesses in it, which Pakatan Harapan will raise in Parliament on Monday.

He cited the huge allocation – RM81 million – for the Special Affairs Unit, or Jasa, under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.

“It is merely a propaganda unit, and yet, it has been allocated such a huge amount. Such an amount is best spent on the disabled and the poor instead of a government department.

“There is something wrong here in the allocation.”

He said the figures cited by Tengku Zafrul are unsettling, among them the corporate income tax projection, which is RM4 billion less than last year’s.

“Some businesses became bankrupt and some have narrower profit margins, except for, perhaps, Top Glove (Corp Bhd). And yet, the government feels that it can earn a substantial income tax from the private sector.”

He added that the total estimated income versus a higher deficit incurred does not compute.

“We advocate transparency towards trying to restore recovery in our economy. Our policies must be guided by facts.”

Anwar said he feels that Tengku Zafrul placed more emphasis on banks’ interests rather than the people’s, noting that allowing workers to withdraw RM500 a month from their Employees Provident Fund Account 1 reeks of desperation.

The PKR president said the ministry must ensure everyone entitled to loans gets the authorities’ attention.

“The help should not be accorded to just one category of workers. It must be encompassing.” – The Vibes, November 6, 2020