KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today laid down the facts and figures of the allocations his government has provided to states under Perikatan Nasional (PN), in response to accusations that the Budget 2023 is sidelining them.
Not mincing words, the prime minister lashed out at the opposition for calling his unity government cruel, while pointing out that his budget is far superior to the ones announced by his predecessors.
In the same breath, Anwar also slammed PN lawmakers who used Quranic verses during their budget debates to call out his administration, accusing them of riding on religion.
“How can we use verses from the Quran to urge (the government) to do charity, while we forget our responsibility to the rakyat, and link them (verses) with the budget?” Anwar said when winding up Budget 2023 at the policy stage today.
“This is what we call 'tunggang agama' (riding on religion) for the sake of insulting others. This is not right. Where is the fault in our actions? We are trying our best to help, regardless of state.
“Look at what happened in the three years when they (the opposition) were in power. Compare the budgets in these three years with the one I tabled. This year is far better than previous ones, including allocations for Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, and Kedah."
“So, to accuse us of being cruel is not accurate, what more using Quranic verses with the wrong intention.”
Anwar was responding to Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (Tumpat-PN), who accused the government of neglecting Kelantan, and demanded action over mere lip service.
Previously, several PN lawmakers had also spoken out against the government during their debates on the Budget 2023 for supposedly not doing enough for PN-held states.
Anwar, however, noted that his budget had allocated huge development expenditures for the four states, all seeing an increase from the previous year.
For instance, he said Kelantan will receive RM2.5 billion this year compared with RM1.8 billion, while Perlis has been allocated RM570 million as opposed to RM250 million previously.
In addition, the Pakatan Harapan chairman pointed out that the federal government has also agreed to grant further financial assistance to Kelantan, Terengganu, and Perlis, at a figure higher than before.
“Read the budget book that we have issued, don’t just spread lies. Read!
“I would like to ask, what happened in the past three years? Why weren’t these funds increased? Where was the allocation for Kelantan?
“It’s okay, you don’t have to thank me, but don’t insult and disparage me.” – The Vibes, March 9, 2023
