What Are Ministers And Opposition Politicians Saying

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At first glance, Budget 2020 appears to be a boon for entrepreneurs, employees, civil servants and women
Most ministers seem satisfied with their allocations, especially for education and health which received the biggest slices of the budget pie
Opposition politicians have zoomed in on discrepancies and the lack of detail for defence initiatives, among others
Here are what some ministers, backbenchers and Opposition politicians are saying about Budget 2020

Education Minister Maszlee Malik(We are the biggest beneficiary) and it comes with a big responsibility and a sense of integrity
So on my part, the priority is to make sure that every single cent that has been budgeted and allocated for education will reach the targeted parties
I will make sure that the governance process and all the management is with full transparency and accountability [...]
We do have (a monitoring system). We set it up since last year when I came into office. You can see that we have managed to overcome a lot of issues that were faced by the previous government
Umno Pontian MP and former deputy minister Ahmad MaslanThe 9,000 or so national primary and secondary schools (SK and SMK) were given RM300 million, which works out to only RM30,000 per school
There are only 60 independent Chinese schools but they were given RM15 million. This means RM250,000 of allocations per school
Is this budget fair? They should give RM250,000 to each SK and SMK too
Defence Minister Mohamad SabuWe wanted more allocations. But now with a 12 percent increase (RM15.6 billion in 2020 from RM13.9 billion), this will help with soldiers’ welfare
Especially since allocations for the Rumah Keluarga Angkatan Tentera (RKAT) programme have been increased from RM120 million to RM150 million
This is also the first time one-off payments were announced for Pingat Jasa Malaysia recipients (RM500) and those who do not receive pensions (RM250). This is the first time they are getting this although we asked for a bigger allocation
I sincerely hope next year’s allocation for soldiers will be bigger especially for those to won the Pingat Jasa Malaysia for defeating the communists in the past
Umno Sembrong MP and former Defence Minister Hishammuddin HusseinI am disappointed at Budget 2020, especially for the defence sector. There were no details at all on any initiatives
I am not worried about the allocation per se but I want to know what initiatives the Defence Ministry will carry out strengthen national security
[...] Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu, you need to remember that security threats can happen anytime. There is no need to wait for the Defence White Paper (to be tabled) before something is done
You should not delay on issues of national security because the rakyat will become the victims if anything happens to the country
Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia YouthIf we think back to Budget 2019, that was the biggest budget in the nation’s history at RM314.5 billion (not including the unexpected expenses of RM2 billion). Operating expenditure was RM259.8 billion and development expenditure was RM54.7 billion
Today, the Finance Minister announced that RM297 billion has been allocated for Budget 2020 which means a RM17.5 billion reduction from last year
Unfortunately, operating expenditure remained quite large at RM241 billion. Development expenditure was only RM56 billion
This clearly shows that the Pakatan Harapan government have continued to fail in fulfilling the aspirations of the people and youth to see more development for the future of Malaysia
Sabah Chief Minister Shafie ApdalWe need the Pan Borneo Highway and we need enablers like electricity and water. I thank Finance Minister (Lim Guan Eng) for giving us these enablers and for allowing the highway project to continue
[...] At a time when the world economy is at a downturn and high domestic debt, I think this budget is better than last year’s. It is inclusive in nature in terms of aid, even though maybe not as much as all parties hoped for
I really hope there will be more allocations for defence and security [...] we need more helicopters and battleships. There ought to be more allocations for the Home and Defence Ministries
Health Minister Dzulkefly AhmadIn line with the Pakatan Harapan manifesto, Budget 2020 has allocated a preliminary RM60 million to begin offering free Pneumococcal vaccines for children under the National Immunisation Programme (NIP)
This vaccine will be able to prevent lung, blood and brain infections which can be fatal or cause permanent disability
Deputy Women, Children and Community Minister Hannah YeohChildcare centres at workplaces have received RM30 million in this budget, this is thrice the amount from last year
Therefore I think think this budget is women-friendly and child-friendly, especially the RM60 million for vaccinations
And I like the #MalaysiaKerja hashtag in this budget because we need to change the habits, mindset and culture where if you work, the government will help you. This is very important
Umno Pekan MP and former prime minister Najib Abdul RazakPreviously, houses in Forest City will be purchased by foreign nationals. 700,000 China nationals will be brought in
But now, (they are saying) what is wrong with selling houses nationwide to all foreign nationals? This will be able to solve the problems of developers
[...] With today’s announcement, foreign nationals will only need to buy property worth only RM600,000 to be able to stay in Malaysia
Port Dickson MP and PKR President Anwar IbrahimObjectively I will say that this budget is generally to stimulate the economy and it fulfils the conditions to stimulate the economy
What is interesting, it is very concerned with the needs of the rural folk, urban poor, women and those who need training opportunities such as TVET
There are one or two aspects which can be improved on but generally, the budget approach is good for the economy and the people
MACC chief Latheefa KoyaMACC is of the position that having an additional 100 staff for 2020 is a clear manifestation from the government of its commitment to combating corruption
The RM10 million allocation to conduct Risk Assessment Tests for all ministries, departments and government agencies will further empower the MACC to fight corruption
MACC appreciates the government’s decision. Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin The Ministry lauded the approval of a special RM200 allowance for 14,400 members of the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM), saying it would help motivate firefighters across the country
It was also happy with the RM10 billion to be provided by financial institutions with government support, by providing a guarantee of 30 percent or RM3 billion through the Rent To Own scheme
Additional packages included RM100 million provided by the government for repairs on low and medium-cost housing projects, RM15 million for the Safe City initiative in collaboration with local authorities and the Youth Housing Scheme, under which the Federal government also offers guarantees of a 10 percent loan through CagamasOverall, the 2020 Budget was in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 and offered a precise and detailed plan that would to solve home-ownership issues for Malaysians. - Mkini

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