Quick glance BN budget vs PR budget
Lee Wee Tak
It has been number crunching nerd’s dream week as both Barisan Nasional administration and Pakatan Rakyat shadow administration unveiled their respective budget within a day between them.
There is so much to talk about when one put both of them together. I limit myself for the moment to comment on Vision, Cost of Living and Crime and Safety aspects.
Vision:
Pakatan Rakyar:
3 strategic thrust to combat deteriorating standard of living of all Malaysians, combating rampant corruption and patronage
1) Increasing disposal income
2) Building Entrepreneur class and promoting constructive competition
3) A just society with dignity and pride
BN:
Focus on the expected short term goodies and no structural transformation in sight despite Economic Transformation being the daily rallying call
BN would rely on the tax break such as
•Three-year tax holiday for tourism companies handing 750 foreign tourists and 1,500 local tourists.
•10-year tax holiday for Tun Razak Exchange companies, expected to attract 250 companies related to finance sector
So much for 1Malaysia concept – special tax rate for finance industry major players converging in a piece of real estate.
It is proven that tax break alone is not enough to attract foreign investment and talent. Otherwise Singapore would not have beaten Malaysia to become the financial hub of South East Asia. Whereas constructive competition promoted by Pakatan Rakyat would attract foreign investment as evidenced by the new vibrancy in Penang since 2008
On the contrary, PR’s budget advocate for removing rent seekers, lower cost of business and living by addressing excessive fats in toll collection, broad band expenses, water and electricity facilities.
PR’s budget exhibited much more apparent transformation and structural reform signals compared to BN. The existing concessionaires no doubt represented a major obstacle for reform and transformation of substance.
Cost of living
BN continue to mimic PR’s initial concrete gesture of returning excess cash to the needy (such as Penang’s RM100 gift to elders). The difference is that BN finance the handout by deficit budget whereas PR distributes from surpluses.
BN has upped the competition with more handouts such as:
•One-off payment of RM1,000 for army veterans who served for at least 21 years, where 224,000 will qualify.
•RM200 rebate for smart phone purchase for those aged 21 to 30 years.
•Half price Kommuter fares for those earning less than RM3,000 a month.
• RM500 cash for households with combined income of RM3,000 or less
•RM250 cash for unmarried individuals who are 21 and above and earning RM2,000 and below
•One-off payment of RM100 for each primary and secondary school student
•One and a half month civil servants bonus, disbursed in three months.
The above one off goodies is merely pre-GE gig. A water tap which can be turned on and off according to the whims and fancies of a person who can call or postponed GE at spur of a moment.
PR has moved beyond that. It’s budget advocate raising income for all Malaysians. Increased income would free the people from depending too much on hand outs and work towards social justice and more equitable share of wealth of nation.
Read more at: http://wangsamajuformalaysia.blogspot.com/2012/09/qucik-glance-bn-budget-vs-pr-budget.html 
