Press Statement by Lim Guan Eng in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 1^st September 2008: 

Is giving RM 36 per year in tax benefits to more than 10 million working Malaysians helpful in fighting inflation and reducing the rakyat’s financial burden?  

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s populist 2009 budget is actually a poor attempt at copy-cat budget from the Pakatan Rakyat’s economic programme to reduce the financial burden of rising prices on Malaysians and assist the poor. Despite claiming that the 2009 budget would increase disposable income to middle-income earners, the 2009 budget would only collect RM 364.2 million less in taxes. According to the Finance Ministry’s own estimates, instead of RM 176,220 million in revenues in 2009, the government will collect RM 175,855.4 million from the various tax rebates and deductions.

Collecting RM 364.2 million less is insignificant when distributed amongst the more than 10 million working Malaysians, which works out to an average of RM 36 per person per year. In other words it is less than RM 3 a month or only 10 cents per day. Would giving tax benefit of 10 cents a day help to fight inflation and reduce the financial burden of ordinary Malaysians?

DAP proposes that the government distributes the RM 107 billion in annual profits earned by Petronas to ordinary Malaysians by giving a RM 6,000 yearly oil bonus to all working Malaysian families earning less than RM 6,000 a month. This will only cost the government less than RM 35 billion, which is less than one third the annual profits of Petronas. This is better than giving tax benefits of only RM 36 per working Malaysian per year.

Despite spending more than RM 2.1 billion in social programme for the 2009 budget, the failure to eradicate hard-core poverty amongst 38,400 households now raises questions about its effectiveness, competency, accountability and transparency

DAP questions the BN government’s failure to eradicate hard-core poverty amongst 38,400 households now but only in 2010 despite spending more than RM 2.1 billion in social programmes for the 2009 annual budget. This raises questions about its effectiveness, competency, accountability and transparency in its anti-poverty programmes such as:

• RM 500 million for increase in welfare assistance by increasing the eligibility criteria from a monthly household income of RM 400 to RM 720 for Peninsular Malaysia, RM 830 for Sarawak and RM 960 for Sabah benefiting 110,000 households instead of the previous 54,000 households.

• Increasing monthly pension payments to RM 720 per month costing an additional RM 140 million in 2009 and benefiting 75,000 retirees.

• Special fund of RM 25 million special disaster relief fund;

• Enhancing income programmes of RM 220 million in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.

• RM 50 million to build 1,400 new homes and repair 1,000 homes for the hardcore poor.

• RM 580 million for Sabah and RM 420 million for Sarawak to improve basic amenities such as electricity, water and rural roads.

• Exempting household with electricity bills less than RM 20 per month costing RM 170 million for 2009 and benefiting 1.1 million households.

Why is it that after spending RM 2.1 billion, Malaysia still can not wipe out hard-core poverty in 2009. DAP is willing to support the Federal government spending another RM 2.1 billion to wipe out hard-core poverty. Hard-core poverty is defined as those families with a household income of less than RM 400.

What type of caring society are we, if the government can accept that there are still families earning less than RM 400 a month? DAP considers it both irresponsible and unacceptable that the government refuses to spend more money to wipe out hard-core poverty when it can afford to do so.

For this reason the Pakatan Rakyat government in Penang is determined to do in one single year, what BN failed or refuses to do in 50 years, that is to wipe out hard-core poverty by early 2009.

DAP urges the BN government to adopt the CAT philosophy of governance based on competency, accountability and transparency that can prevent corruption and ensure that the nation’s wealth are shared equitably with the rakyat.

---

* Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister Penang & DAP Secretary-General