Big Promises Little Math Critics Pan Pn S Rm6 000 Aid Budget Plan

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The alternative budget that opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin presented yesterday drew mixed reactions, with political observers and government MPs describing it as unrealistic.
It was also criticised for lacking a solid fiscal basis and failing to address major national issues such as government debt, leakages of public funds, and structural weaknesses in national revenue.
Among key proposals in the presentation is an annual cash aid of RM6,000 for low-income households under a scheme called Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN), seen as a rival to government initiatives such as the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) and Rahmah Necessities Aid (Sara).
However, the proposal prompted debate, as it failed to explain how a Perikatan Nasional government would fund such a major scheme without placing further strain on public finances.
Incomplete, shallow
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim welcomed PN’s proposal to improve the subsidy assistance system and increase the amount of aid.
According to Hassan, the move was appropriate and should be welcomed, as it demonstrated concern for the lower- and middle-income groups.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul KarimHowever, he described the overall presentation as incomplete and shallow, as it lacked concrete proposals to boost national revenue.
“I begin my remarks on a positive note. Firstly, the opposition leader’s proposal for PN to improve the subsidy assistance system and increase the aid amount is good and should be welcomed.
“However, the opposition leader failed to offer solutions to the major critical issues facing the country,” he told Malaysiakini.
Hassan pointed out that despite the government spending hundreds of billions annually on operational costs, Hamzah did not outline how development expenditure - about RM80 billion a year - could be increased.
“Hamzah did not offer any proposal on how to increase allocations for development expenditure. The opposition leader also failed to outline what tax reforms are needed to raise national revenue,” he said.
ADSHassan further questioned Hamzah’s failure to propose ways to improve non-tax revenue, particularly from government-linked companies (GLCs) such as Petronas, which he said has been declining.
Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin“Hamzah, as opposition leader, also failed to address the hundreds of billions of ringgit allocated to government agencies over the past five years - funds approved by Parliament that have vanished due to corruption and leakages.
“The opposition leader has remained silent on this,” he said, while also questioning the lack of any proposed solution to the government’s debt issue, which now stands at 64.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Hassan said that merely criticising the growing national debt without proposing a plan to reduce it was inadequate.
In his presentation of the alternative budget in Parliament, Hamzah said that the monthly RM500 BPN payments would be far better than the Sara programme, which he described as conditional and limited.
Lacking credibility
Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan echoed Hassan’s criticism.
“I didn’t see any real alternative budget yesterday. All we heard was a promise to give RM6,000 a year,” he said.
Bangi MP Syahredzan JohanSyahredzan also questioned PN’s economic credibility, referring to the poor performance of the State Government 4 (SG4) opposition-led states, made up of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu.
The DAP lawmaker said the four states continue to struggle with basic infrastructure, water supply, and investment issues.
“With PN’s lacklustre economic record in the SG4 states and during its time in government, it lacks credibility to propose convincing economic policies.
“What we heard was merely a promise to give RM6,000 a year. But where will the funds come from? That was not explained. When asked about alternative tax proposals, there was again no answer.
“I think such unrealistic proposals are more suited to casual conversations at a coffee shop than to a speech by an opposition leader,” Syahredzan added.
Excessive burden
Political analyst Azmi Hassan also questioned the practicality of the RM6,000 proposal, saying it would place an excessive burden on national finances, especially if the number of eligible recipients was large.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim leaves the Treasury building to table Budget 2026 in Parliament on Oct 10“PN’s budget includes the RM6,000 BPN proposal. I’m not sure how many people would qualify, but this proposal alone appears to be a deliberate attempt to outdo the government’s Sara and STR schemes.
“The reality is that the RM6,000 BPN proposal is a huge sum. If even STR and Sara are challenging to implement without a solid financial foundation, how could such a large BPN scheme be carried out?” Azmi asked.
He added that many Malaysians are unlikely to scrutinise PN’s budget proposal closely, as the general perception is that it is populist and unrealistic given the country’s fiscal position.
Too good a promise
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia senior political science lecturer Jamaie Hamil described PN’s alternative budget as overly optimistic.
“The (PN) budget can be seen as full of promises that are perhaps too futuristic, too ambitious, too large - in short, full of grand and extraordinary pledges.
“As the opposition, they can afford to make impressive offers because they know they won’t have to deliver on them. That’s the nature of opposition politics - to show they can do better than the government,” he said.
Jamaie added that while the budget might look good in intent and numbers, PN’s lack of credibility as administrators in their own states makes it difficult for the public to take them seriously. - Mkini

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