Budget 2023 will be a populist budget with highest expenditure ever, expert says
SHAH ALAM – Budget 2023, which will be tabled less than a month away is expected to be a populist budget with the highest expenditure ever, an expert says.
Putra Business School (PBS) Associate Professor Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said the budget would have the highest expenditure since it would take advantage of high prices of commodities and positive growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for this year and beyond.
It has been reported that Malaysia’s GDP expanded further 8.9 per cent compared to 5.0 per cent in the previous quarter.
However, he reminded the people to scrutinise all initiatives or incentives given to ensure transparency and accountability.
Dr Razman added that it was important that the 2023 Budget to focus on the right matters because the Twelfth Malaysian Plan (12MP) also depended on it.
“It is important that the 2023 Budget focuses on the right matters to ensure that the Twelfth Malaysian Plan (12MP) will be on the right track as well.
“There must be a balance between short-term gain next year and achieving medium and long term objectives,” he told Sinar Daily.
When asked about the issues that the 2023 Budget should focus on, he said that it should include the economic resilience of the nation and its people for next year and beyond.
He said the budget should consider the ongoing economic, political and social uncertainties on the global stage as well as domestic issues such as rising inflation rate and high cost of living.
“Not only that, people would expect various assistance consisting of financial and non-financial measures to continue, and preferably enhanced from what has been promised under Budget 2022,” he said.
Meanwhile, University Malaya (UM) Economics and Administration Faculty Senior Research Fellow Dr Zulkiply Omar said the 2023 Budget should focus on the recovery of the nation’s economy following the pandemic that caused the people to lose their jobs.
He said it was expected there were still uncertainties over many issues that the people would experience next year, hence why the budget should centre around promoting growth for the economy.
He further said the people would expect the budget to include solutions for the rising prices issues.
“People will have expectations on solutions to the rising prices issues, and it is not surprising that they will presume for the budget to do something about it.
“Which is why the budget must focus on the issues of the public, especially now post Covid-19 where people want life to go back to normal,” he said when contacted.
When asked about the speculations that the tabling for the 2023 Budget has been brought forward from Oct 28 to Oct 7 this year to make way for GE15, he said it was a separate matter as there was no legal timeframe for budget tabling that needed to be followed.
“When the budget will be tabled actually does not matter and it is not like there is a legal timeframe the budget tabling needs to follow.
“Whether it is related to the election or not, I think from the economic perspective, that’s another matter,” he added.
The Twelfth Malaysian Plan (12MP) is a comprehensive development plan to ensure sustainable economic growth with a more equitable distribution of opportunities and outcomes.
Budget 2023 was supposed to be tabled on Oct 28 as scheduled in the Parliament’s calendar, but it was brought forward to Oct 7.
