2021 budget ‘misleading’, may not be easily passed, warns Anwar

(FMT) – Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim today warned that the 2021 budget “may not be passed easily” as it did not touch on several issues that concern the rakyat.

He claimed the budget tabled on Friday was “misleading and nothing extraordinary”.

Debating the budget proposals in the Dewan Rakyat this morning, Anwar said the views given by opposition MPs to Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz during pre-budget discussions, especially on the loan moratorium and Covid-19 allocation, had been ignored.

He said this showed there was no cooperation from the government.

As much as the opposition wanted to support the budget, he said, there were several issues, such as figures which “have been manipulated so that the budget looks good”.

Due to that, he said, the budget “may not be passed easily”, adding that the finance ministry should review the allocation to fight Covid-19, allocation for frontliners, and measures to stimulate the economy.