Commentary by political editor Wan Hamidi Hamid
AUG 29 — It's a populist Budget to curb Barisan Nasional MPs and state assemblymen from crossing over to the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led opposition's Pakatan Rakyat.
In his own words, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he would not permit the people's mandate to be seized from BN, which had won the last election with a majority of the seats based on democratic principles. It's a clear message aimed at Anwar's attempt to win over BN's wakil rakyat.
"I am confident the people will continue to support the Barisan Nasional government to govern the nation. We need to get on with the business of governing and not waste any more time with opportunistic threats to seize the people's mandate through undemocratic means.
"Efforts by certain parties to destabilise the country by attempting to seize power through illegitimate means, and without the mandate of the people, must be rejected. We cannot allow uncertainties to continue, as this will adversely affect foreign investment, economic sentiment and the capital markets.
"I will not allow these disturbances to continue," he said when tabling the 2009 Budget at the Parliament today.
With so many goodies offered, particularly to the lower-income group, the prime minister is hoping to block any attempt to oust him, either from the external opposition or from within his Umno and BN coalition.
In his most populist Budget where mega long-term plans were put aside to focus on the government's offer to take care of small needs such as paying electricity bills, Abdullah is offering tax cuts, rebates and infrastructure improvement to regain the people's confidence, especially the Malays.
While the Malay voting pattern for Umno and BN did not change much in many states during the March 8 general election, the humiliating defeat in the Permatang Pauh by-election last Tuesday was a blow to Umno when a high number of Malays voted against the federal ruling coalition.
Abdullah is also offering lots of goodies to develop Sabah and Sarawak, long forgotten except for their oil and gas, and timber revenues. He knew that Anwar has been enticing politicians form both states to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat.
The problem with such a budget is that there will be heavy public spending. The Finance Ministry report, also released today, has projected a spending of RM197.21 billion, an increase of 20.5 per cent. This means a budget deficit will be at 4.8 percent of the GDP.
In his attempt to outdo his rival Anwar's populist propaganda – to further reduce fuel prices, to help the poor and to balance the economy – Abdullah has gone all out to appease the lower income group.
With high deficit, the government will have to find other avenues to generate income. Could it be that the expanding middle class will be the target to provide the much-needed funds for the government to help those in the lower income bracket?
Yet the prime minister also provides perks for small businesses while offering other measures to bring in the much-needed foreign direct investments.
Will he be able to convince the people?
Anwar who was formerly finance minister as well as a cunning politician is expected to go around the Budget to find the loopholes. One thing for sure, he has promised to reduce the petrol price by 70 sen if he comes into power.
He and other opposition leaders are also expected to criticise Abdullah on matters that were not raised such as corruption, leakages and mismanagement. The opposition will also question the Budget for not addressing the five states controlled by Pakatan, especially the already developed Penang, Selangor and Perak.
In fact the opposition is upset with the current policy of sidelining them from national development, particularly with the shelving of mega projects for the people in Penang, Abdullah's home state.
Such political uncertainty will cause current and potential investors to be more restless than ever.
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
