On the surface, both appear to be quite similar in intent and target, namely, to help alleviate the rising cost of living particularly amongst the lower-income groups. Yet the philosophical formulation of the two documents cannot be more divergent. Breaking through the sheath of populist pronouncements, one would discover a sharp contrast between the underlying ideologies that define the two budgets.
Zairil Khir Johari, The Malaysian Insider
And so it has come to this. The last push. With the general election expected soon, both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional are preparing themselves for the final assault. Barricades have been erected, cannons lined up and guns trained on the other side. In the last week, we have witnessed the opening salvos launched by both sides.
First to the tilt was Pakatan Rakyat with a modest offering encapsulated in the title “kesejahteraan untuk semua” or “prosperity for all’. And just as it was about to gain traction the ruling Barisan Nasional descended with a no-holds-barred mega welfare budget, coincidentally called “bajet membela rakyat, mensejahtera negara”, or “defending the people and prosperity for the country”.
Without a doubt, both sides have angled the budget with an election in mind. Thus, there is no escaping the menial comparisons between the two sets of proffered “goodies” — RM500 for lower-income households compared to RM1,000 for lower-income housewives, or cash and book voucher bonuses for students compared to RM700 childcare allowances, or a restructuring of teachers’ salary schemes compared to an outright increase in teachers’ allowances. In short, most comparative discourse has been about whose sack contains bigger and better presents — Santa Najib or Santa.
On the surface, both appear to be quite similar in intent and target, namely, to help alleviate the rising cost of living particularly amongst the lower-income groups. Yet the philosophical formulation of the two documents cannot be more divergent. Breaking through the sheath of populist pronouncements, one would discover a sharp contrast between the underlying ideologies that define the two budgets.
Take the position on expenditures. Again, both appear similar on paper — BN’s RM232 billion compared to PR’s RM220 billion, with BN curtailing the long-running national deficit to 4.7 per cent of GDP compared to 4.4 per cent for PR, though the latter is based on a more conservative GDP projection. However, closer inspection would reveal that the essence of PR’s spending policy is necessarily tempered by a commitment to prudence, efficiency and sustainability.
For example, the PR document promises to issue Approved Permits (APs) at market value, thus raising RM1.2 billion in what can only be described as lost revenue. In addition, an open tender system as well as an Unfair Public Contracts Act is promised in order to increase value-for-money and to ensure public interest is protected. More importantly, there is also a commitment to reducing the Petronas dividend to 40 per cent of projected net profits, thus ensuring our national cash cow is able to plough its profits back for reinvestment.
The BN’s spending approach, on the other hand, is really just about spending. In this case, reducing the deficit merely means spending controls and reallocation of resources without necessarily addressing wastefulness, inefficiency and the need for sustainable economics.
Another key difference is the discretionary budget of the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD). The BN’s budget has carved out RM13.5 billion for the prime minister’s use, while PR has pledged to reduce that amount by a third, returning it to the levels of half a decade ago.
Reducing the prime minister’s spending is only half the story — the true intention of this exercise is to take steps towards decentralisation of power. Over the last few years, multiple new agencies have been created and parked under the blossoming aegis of the PMD. This has not only served to consolidate power under the prime minister, it has also emasculated various ministries which have seen their functions replicated and usurped.
Seen in this context, PR’s reduction of PMD expenditure is therefore not only an attempt to return power to its rightful ministries, but more importantly to reduce the arbitrary power of the prime minister. Following this, a promise was also made by the opposition leader, coincidentally also the last finance minister to table a surplus budget nearly 15 years ago, that a PR prime minister would not concurrently sign the treasury cheques — another clear commitment to devolvement and decentralisation of power.
Both budgets also apparently target a very specific group — households with cumulative incomes of below RM3,000 — representing nearly 60 per cent of our population. To assist this group, BN is doling out cash bonuses of RM500 for each family, RM100 for schoolchildren and RM200 for tertiary students as a means of riding out the expected economic storm.
The PR budget, while also promising assistance in the form of a RM1,000 homemaker allowance and a RM1,000 bonus for the elderly, will also grant childcare allowances of RM700 a year in addition to the facilitation and establishment of certified childcare centres. This incentive is designed to encourage female participation in the workforce, thus increasing productivity and income of the targeted households.
Comments (2)
written by najis lazak, October 11, 2011 15:41:35
Using Raayat's money... my grandmother also can lah.After 50 years of using raayats money nothing has changed.. continue to use kah???
Vote out BN simple as that ...
written by oklah, October 11, 2011 15:35:45
The education budget has been raise substantially above 50b - the highest in history. The Ministry of Education will introduce vocational training to high schools and students will eventually graduate with a SPM cert and a Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia cert. The Ministry of Education will soon supply the necessary equipment, furniture & fixtures to the high schools. Now, who is going to teach? The whole Ministry of Human Resource is in the dark. High school teachers cannot be converted into vocational training experts over nightly. Even they want to go for a Pertauliahan Pengalaman Terdahulu exam, they must have at least the evidence for the right experience. So what is going to happen to the poor students and the equipment etc....? 2012 is only months away..
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