The formation of a new government may be just weeks away, but the first agenda of a newly elected government must be the retabling of Budget 2023.
This, according to Associate Professor Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk, was essential, as problems will arise if the new budget is not tabled and approved before year-end.
Azeem said with now caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolving Parliament just three days after Budget 2023 was presented, the proposed expenditure in said budget, had become “purely academic”.
While Ismail Sabri said today that his government would retable the budget before year-end, Azeem said time was of the essence.
“There will be a lot of considerations, including waiting for Parliament to reconvene, and appointing a new Speaker. As time will be a factor, a special Parliamentary sitting must take place to ensure the budget is tabled before year-end,” said Azeem.
He added that besides ensuring the smooth working of government departments, the salaries of civil servants for the month of January were another reason why the retabling of the budget must be expedited.
“If the budget is not tabled and approved in time, civil servants will not receive their salary for January 2023.”
Azeem also said while Budget 2023 was an “election budget”, he believes it will not determine how people will vote.
“I doubt Budget 2023 can actually sway votes, as a budget can only be of benefit once it (the goodies) are dished out to the people,” said Azeem, who is the director of Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Policy Research and International Studies.
“It is akin to an election manifesto and will remain a manifesto, until and unless it is approved and implemented.”
Azeem said as Malaysians still do not know who will be the new finance minister or prime minister, any new government is not beholden to the outgoing government and is not bound to table the same budget.
Azeem however, said that with uncertainties on who will wrest Putrajaya, there will be hurdles, as far as Budget 2023 is concerned.
“Those in the Finance Ministry had sleepless nights preparing Budget 2023. I believe it was irresponsible for the outgoing government to table a budget, knowing that it was not going to be implemented.”
Renowned economist Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, had previously told Twentytwo13 that while the previous government had met its objectives in rolling out goodies to be politically popular, Budget 2023 was a “short-term plan”.
This was because it did not address the issue of financing. There was no mention of any changes in tax policies, except for tax exemptions.
Navaratnam said this meant that the public will not know what the deficit is, or if the government is borrowing more.
