Media statement by Liew Chin Tong in Parliament on Monday, 25^th October 2010:

The RM 30 Billion hole that wasn't

The Treasury has responded to my comment on 21st October 2010 the RM30 Billion hole that wasn't in the Anggaran Perbelanjaan Persekutuan 2011 by issuing a correction today as attached.

The Finance Minister and the Treasury, however, has yet to respond to my contention that the Finance Minister should apologise to the Parliament for his ostrich-like act to hide a RM 2 billion figure from the public in his budget speech to the Parliament on Friday 15th October 2010.

The Finance Minister announced in the Parliament (paragraph 113) that the total allocation for Budget 2011 is RM212 billion, which, according to him, is 2.8% higher than the allocation for 2010.

Both figures are wrong!

First, for all preceding years before this budget, the allocation for "simpanan luar jangka" (emergency reserve) is considered part of the global figure. For 2011, RM 2 billion is allocated for that purpose which the Finance Minister is attempting to hide from the public. The actual total is RM 213,987,217, 000 or RM 214 billion.

Second, RM 214 billion is a huge increase from the RM 191 billion originally allocated for 2010. It is a 12 percent increase.

For the sake of preserving the integrity of the budget processes and the sanctity of the Parliament, I call on the Finance Minister and the Treasury to correct their mistakes.

*Correction by the Treasury(PDF)

* Liew Chin Tong, MP for Bukit Bendera