KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 – Lim Guan Eng blamed the country’s budget deficit today on what he said was the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s political patronage, cronyism and corruption.
While presenting the DAP’s “alternative Budget” here today, Lim, the party secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister, accused BN of bringing “this nation to its knees.”
A startling example of this “pillaging,” said Lim, was the escalating operational cost the government had to bear at the expense of the country’s taxpayers.
From 2001 to 2006, the operational cost of the federal government was only some RM 78 billion but in 2009, the cost increased to RM 150 billion.
Operational spending includes services and supplies, debt service charges and emoluments and account for almost 75 per cent from the total budget for last year, which means that only 25 percent was spent on development.
Lim claimed the increased spending was caused by wastage on contentious expenses like “paying more for what the price of the item or service really is, referring to the “RM30 per screwdriver” scandal revealed by the Auditor General’s report some two years ago.
“The government, through a more transparent governance, could have saved a lot on resources if scandals like the RM 12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone fiasco were avoided,” added Lim.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, who was also presenting the party’s Budget proposals, said such discrepancies had taken its toll on the country’s “golden goose”, Petronas.
“Almost 50 per cent of the country’s revenue comes from Petronas and we are making a lot of money out of it but we risk killing our golden goose if the money we take from it continues to be wasted on corruption,” said Pua.
He accused the BN government of failure to develop real income sectors throughout the years, and for “pressing Petronas for money every time it runs out of cash.”
The alternative Budget by DAP, among others, proposes that operational expenditure be slashed to half and that the tax cap on Petronas be maintained at 50 per cent so that the remaining profit can be reinvested.
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