SHAH ALAM - The 2023 budget should not be used to fish votes as the 15th General Election (GE15) approaches as the country's expenditure exceeded the 'normal' level due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Damansara MP Tony Pua called on the government to learn from the failure of Britain's approach of trying to win the people's support by announcing massive tax cuts, causing the country into bigger debts.
He said if Budget 2023 becomes a tool for the government to win election votes, the value of the ringgit which has fallen in value against the United States dollar (US$) will fall even worse.
"The government needs to consider the lessons from Britain when Prime Minister Liz Truss announced massive tax cuts to win the support of the people.
"As a result, the value of the Pound Sterling plunged because the total debt of the British government is estimated to increase dramatically.
"This is because the size of the country's expenditure over the past three years to deal with Covid-19 has exceeded the 'normal' level," he told Sinar Premium.
Meanwhile, Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming gave a different view by putting confidence that the Finance Ministry will carry out its duties professionally and not be influenced by GE15.
"Although there are groups that need assistance, the help will be implemented in a targeted manner for B40 and small, micro and medium enterprise entrepreneurs (PKMS).
"If the assistance is the targeted, I don't think this should be considered 'candy' for GE15," he said.
Damansara MP Tony Pua called on the government to learn from the failure of Britain's approach of trying to win the people's support by announcing massive tax cuts, causing the country into bigger debts.
He said if Budget 2023 becomes a tool for the government to win election votes, the value of the ringgit which has fallen in value against the United States dollar (US$) will fall even worse.
"The government needs to consider the lessons from Britain when Prime Minister Liz Truss announced massive tax cuts to win the support of the people.
"As a result, the value of the Pound Sterling plunged because the total debt of the British government is estimated to increase dramatically.
"This is because the size of the country's expenditure over the past three years to deal with Covid-19 has exceeded the 'normal' level," he told Sinar Premium.
Meanwhile, Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming gave a different view by putting confidence that the Finance Ministry will carry out its duties professionally and not be influenced by GE15.
"Although there are groups that need assistance, the help will be implemented in a targeted manner for B40 and small, micro and medium enterprise entrepreneurs (PKMS).
"If the assistance is the targeted, I don't think this should be considered 'candy' for GE15," he said.