Country can collapse if Budget not passed, says Husni

(The Star) – Failure to pass next year’s Budget would have led to severe consequences for the country, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.

He said the country could have “collapsed” if the Budget had not been passed at the Parliament on Monday.

“This is not a trivial matter. The Budget lines out the allocation and expenditure to be used for the country’s development next year.

“There is not one country in the world that can carry on without a Budget,” he told reporters after opening the Tambun Barisan Nasional Mobile Service Centre at Taman Perpaduan here Saturday.

On Monday, the Budget managed to scrape through with a thin majority of three votes with 66 votes from the Barisan MPs against 63 from Pakatan Rakyat MPs in the Dewan Rakyat.

Ahmad Husni also slammed Pakatan for voting against the Budget.

“They do not think of the bigger picture nor do they love the country.

“They could have destroyed the nation for their own political mileage by voting against the Budget,” he said, adding that the people should be more critical of Pakatan for their selfish actions.

When asked on comments by some quarters that it was not the right economic situation to implement the 4% Goods and Services Tax (GST), Ahmad Husni said he would welcome any evaluation from the people.

“We do not want people to simply object and later realise that they have made a mistake,” he said, adding that such objections could have deprived the people of something beneficial to the country.

He further noted that the Government had been having consultations with consumer and professional bodies since 2005 about the implementation of the GST.