A People-Centric and Caring Budget

 Unless a reliable mechanism is developed to disburse the money, bureaucracy and leakages will erode confidence…read more

The conduct of the farcical Perak State Legislative Assembly sitting on 28th October was well documented in the media and the blogsphere. However, blogs and online media offered readers with a blow-by-blow account of the happenings within and without the assembly hall. The State Secretariat Building, better known as Bagunan SUK by its Malay acronym, has gained such notoriety and prominence since the Barisan Nasional takeover on 6th February.
Today any face-off between BN and Pakatan Rakyat politicians in the august house will attract the kind of media attention seldom seen in the annals of the state parliament. The possibility of the building and its surrounding turning into a battle zone becomes a reality no sooner as words of a assembly sitting are leaked.
The Police are apt at providing that kind of atmosphere with very little urging. It has become a routine of sorts for the state police chief to declare Bagunan SUK off-limits to the public whenever a need arises. A court order will accompany such declaration and this will be made known to news agencies in the chief’s media releases. The latest assembly sitting was no exception.

Budget Speech
The significance of the 28th October sitting should not be overlooked. However, events leading to the proceedings were as equally dramatic as the fracas that took place inside the building. The speed by which Mentri Besar, Dato’ Seri Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir, delivered his Budget 2010 speech and moved his motions through three readings, seemed a little absurd for a practising democracy like ours. He completed his speech in thirty minutes beginning at 11.20 a.m. and ending when the opposing Aduns were trickling in. Each reading was approved by the BN representatives but protested vociferously by their opposite numbers. The Pakatan assemblymen walked out after the third reading.
Budget speech is a lengthy affair as it a statement of incomes and expenditures and major policy decisions required to achieve the state’s financial goals the following year. The speech will be followed by debates after each reading. It’s remarkable how the assembly was able to compress a process of proposal, deliberation and decision to a mere thirty minutes. This is something unique to the Perak legislature and, therefore, deserves a mention in the Malaysian Book of Records
Through such hasten proceeding, the aspirations of the rakyat, who are being represented by their Aduns are being ignored. It makes a mockery of the democratic process and a betrayal of the people‘s trust.

Budget Strategies
Zambry’s budget has been dubbed as “people-centric and caring” by the mainstream media. Let’s see how centric and caring the budget is. His five strategies are aimed at increasing revenue collection and improving the quality of life of Perakeans while producing a skilled and knowledgeable society through continuous training.
The 2010 Budget projects revenue at RM715.69 million with RM560.58 million allocated for operational expenditures and RM179 million for development expenditures. Compare this with Budget 2009 where revenue was projected at RM 711.84 million with RM561 allocated for operations and RM175.84 million for developments. Last year the deficit was RM25 million. This year the shortfall is RM23.89 million. This is the sixth deficit budget in a row.
Incidentally, the projected cost for maintaining the royal household in 2010 is RM9,140,498. A sum of RM6,178,835 has been earmarked as pension and gratuity payments for former state assemblymen and former Mentri Besar. The Mufti Perak department requires RM1,777,486 to operate of which RM1,013,049 has been set aside as remunerations.
The state economy is expected to expand by 3.8 per cent next year while recording a paltry 0.8 per cent growth this year. A difference of 3 per cent over the current year requires plenty of soul searching and hard work. As the state’s revenue sources are limited, efficiency in collection remains a top priority.

Zambry’s Proposals
Now let us consider some of the 19 proposals put forth by Zambry to allocate financial assistance directly to the needy in line with Najib’s 1Malaysia.

Poverty Eradication. RM2 million for repair of houses. RM4 million for poverty eradication programme based on successful modules by developing countries. RM1 million for Yayasan Bina Upaya, a foundation formed to help manage the programme. The government aims for zero poverty by 2010.

Zero Squatter. RM10 million allocation to State Secretary Incorporated (SSI) to develop 122 planned villages or RPT (Rancangan Perkampungan Tersusun). An additional RM1 million to the RM3 million allocated last year for survey works of RPT sites. TOL for squatters occupying state lands along river banks and roadways. Again, zero-squatter by 2012.

Senior Citizens. RM4 million for takaful insurance for senior citizens, single parents, hardcore poor and the disabled.

State Education Fund. RM2 million to be given to Yayasan Perak for the establishment of the state education fund. Each child born in Perak will be allotted RM200 as savings from this fund for their education.

Non-Islamic Activities. RM3.5 million for non-Islamic activities with RM500,000 to be given to the Sikh community.

Special Allocations. RM 1 million to the special education fund for Indian students and RM1 million to the Orang Asli.

Zero-sum Game
Politicians’ obsession with zeros is legendary. Zero this and zero that, even zero-opposition. Under Tajol Rosli his target for zero-poverty and zero-squatter was by 2010, the year when Perak is supposed to become a developed state. Are these lofty aims achievable? Can you rid the state of poverty and squatters by simply pumping in money? These inherent socio-economic problems beset all developing and developed countries. At best, they can be contained but not eradicated. It’s a zero-sum game.
RM200 as savings for every child born in Perak is an excellent idea. But is RM2 million enough considering our ballooning birthrate? The amount is only good for 10,000 babies Foremost, can problem-prone Yayasan Perak be entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the policy?
Insurance coverage and funding for the aged, the needy and the marginalised, especially the Indian and Orang Asli communities, are superb. But how will the money be channelled to the deserving souls? Not through some crony institutions, I hope. The wang ihsan fiasco in Terengganu is one classic example.

Implementation Process
The most difficult part of the deal is the implementation process, which is not only tedious but suspect. Unless a reliable mechanism is developed to disburse the funds, bureaucracy and leakages will erode confidence, making a mess of one’s objectives however noble they may be. Transparency and accountability are the other factors.
If the Auditor-General’s Report 2008 is anything to go by, Zambry’s budget is as good as it is made out to be. Period.
Fathol Zaman Bukhari

Tags: Dato Zambry Abdul Kadir, Fathol Zaman Bukhari, implementing budgets, ipoh budget, perak budgets, Poverty Eradication Malaysia

Category: Editorial