The PR budget is Disappointing - Chua Tee Yong

Press Statement – 5^th October 2012

 

The PR budget is Disappointing

 

1. PR budget 2013 as claimed by the PR is the best budget and definitely a budget tailor made for the rakyat. Is that really so?

 

2. Firstly, Pakatan Rakyat has always said that if they come to power, they will reduce the petrol price and the rakyat will get to enjoy affordable petrol price. However, such an important announcement is not even is not recorded in their latest 2013 Budget. If that were so, how would they be able to reduce the petrol price? Where’s the calculation?

 

3. Not only that, they have also promised to abolish the Toll should PR comes into power. But again, it is not stated in their budget. In the PR 2013 Budget, it is mentioned that the Budget will review toll price, but there was nothing in the Budget that promised toll abolishment.

 

4. Nevertheless, the PR claimed that they have something good in store for the rakyat in their budget where they promised to increase the minimum wage from the current RM900 to RM1, 100. PR shouted that this is the best move for the working group. This is not the truth. This move will further add to the country’s debt burden and will definitely burden the rakyat in long run.

 

5. The calculation is very simple. At the moment, we have 3 million foreign workers in Malaysia. Imagine if we give each foreign worker an additional RM200 a month, in one month, RM600 million will be generated and in one year, RM7.2 billion will be spent on these foreign workers.

 

6. Now, if the RM7.2 billion is used to generate more income for Malaysia, that will be fantastic. However that is not the case here. The RM7.2 billion will be an outflow, as the money will be transferred out from the country to the respective countries of where the foreign workers reside.

 

7. If we implement the minimum wage of RM1, 100, we will lose RM7.2 billion every year. The question here is WHO will the bear the cost of this RM7.2 billion? The answer is the Rakyat! The business owners will definitely pass all the incurred cost from the increase of minimum wage to the Rakyat and Rakyat will be the one to suffer from it. The so-called facilitation fund from PR is only sufficient to last for less than two months. After that, Rakyat will have to bear all the sufferings.

 

8. Not only that, the amount RM7.2 billion is even equivalent to twice of the current government’s BRIM program, including the BRIM for the single youth aged between 21 and 30! Is this what the PR call benefits for the rakyat? Who does it benefit? It is just a political shout-out and there's no practicality in it.

 

9. PR budget 2013 is calling for Ubah, but it is an Ubah that will never benefit the rakyat, an Ubah that will move the country backward and an Ubah that will bankrupt the nation in no time!

 

 

//END

 

By Datuk Chua Tee Yong

MCA Young Professionals Bureau Chairman

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Member of Parliament for Labis