Friday 28 September 2012

5 ELEMENTS IN PAKATAN RAKYAT’S 2013 BUDGET





By : LIM KIT SIANG

THE PAKATAN Rakyat’s 2013 Budget recognises and  addresses the three “Cs” of corruption, crime and competitiveness – the trio of problems which are the bane of the Malaysian economy and if unresolved, will condemn the country to  mediocrity and even towards the direction of  a failed state.

The PR 2013 Budget is also a pledge for a New Deal for Sabah and Sarawak, comprising five elements:

(1)       Reaffirmation of the Kuching Declaration of Pakatan Rakyat of 16th September 2012 to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of Sabah and Sarawak in terms of infrastructure development and protection of their fundamental rights in forming Malaysia 49 years ago in 1963;

(2)       Pakatan Rakyat pledge to honour the increase of petroleum royalty to Sabah and Sarawak (as well as to Terengganu and Kelantan, the other  oil producing states) from 5 to 20%;

(3)       Establishment of state-owned second-tier oil and gas companies for Sabah and Sarawak (as well as Terengganu, Kelantan and other oil producing states) to benefit from the financial investments made into marginal fields through risk-sharing contracts (RSCs). The state-owned oil and gas companies will be nurtured to be able to compete internationally in the future in anticipation of reduced reserves in Malaysia;

(4)       A complete and upgraded Pan-Borneo Highway connecting Kuching to Kota Kinabalu and the east coast of Sabah to bring development in Sabah and Sarawak to be at par with Peninsular Malaysia; and

(5)       Assess the financial impact and viability of upgrading and extending the rail network in Sabah and Sarawak.

8 comments:

  1. This is only a rhetoric promises from the opposition to gain vote from the voters.

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  2. Sabahans and Sarawakians don't easily get maniputaed by the opposition false promises.

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  3. Pasti apa yang PR janjikan tidak terlaksana. Kerana kita dapat ambil contoh di Selangor sendiri. Mana manifesto PR sebelum ini.

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  4. jgnlah percaya pada PR, dia main cakap saja.. lakukan belum tentu boleh.

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  5. Pakatan Rakyat’s alternative budget on the implementation of minimum wage at RM1,100 would only add fuel to fire because it would mean destroying small-medium industries and increasing the country’s unemployment rate. Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin branded the opposition budget as ‘brainless populist’, which was designed to fish for votes instead of improving the lives of the people. It seemed like the opposition just plucked the figures from their imagination and hoped the people would be fooled by it. But we all know the figure is highly unrealistic and would cause more harm to the country’s economy.

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  6. Khairy has a point on this: If we follow through with their suggestion, there are risks for bankruptcy in the small-medium industries. Workers might be let off because the companies cannot afford them and unemployment rate would go up. Khairy said the Barisan Nasional Youth wing had fought for the implementation of minimum wage for many years before the government decided to implement it, following an announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during Worker’s Day celebration earlier this year.

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  7. Meanwhile, a quick-survey by the SMI Association of Malaysia on the implementation of Pakatan’s minimum wage among small-medium enterprises revealed a consensus rejection towards the rate as suggested by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Monday.Association president Tee Kee Sin said the 10,000 members had voiced their worries over the rate PR suggested. Even with the current minimum wage rate from the government, many of the enterprises are asking for the implementation period to be extended. More than seven million of the country’s total employment rate are generated by SMI and it would be severely affected if we follow PR’s suggestion.

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  8. The problem now is that many employees in the sector have started asking for RM1,100 as minimum wage and our members just cannot afford to pay our employees that much. Hulu Selangor member of parliament P. Kamalanathan said the government had consulted various agencies and stakeholders such as the World Bank, SMI associations and the National Wages Consultative Council. Before we decided on the minimum wages of RM900 for peninsula and RM800 for Sabah and Sarawak, we consulted people who would be affected by the implementation. However, the opposition clearly does not consult the people first before making any decisions on their behalf.

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