2011 Budget will set the pace for Malaysia to transform
We start with a positive note from the mainstream paper.

2011 Budget: Big Malaysia is back
Then we go online for a while.

Chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, Wan Saiful Wan Jan, noted that 75 per cent of the government’™s budget –RM163 billion — was for operational expenditure.

“This means the government is committed to maintaining a bloated civil service, with civil servants devouring 75 per cent of the allocation!” he said in a statement to the media.

“I do not see how this Budget is coherent with the prime minister’™s intention to let the private sector lead the economy. It seems like the size of government is going to be as big as ever, if not bigger.”

He added that the Budget looked very much like a preparation for a general election.

“There are promises for more money for JKKK, KAFA teachers, and imams, as well as price cap for PLUS tolls, and various other ‘carrots’ are being dangled to voters,”said Wan Saiful.

The prime minister insisted, however, the Budget was designed to meet the aspirations of the public and that the government would not take the easy way out or sacrifice the nation’s long-term interest for short-term popularity.

“We are not dreamers,” he said in his budget speech today. “We are realists. Our success is not mere coincidence but the result of clear and careful planning as well as firm implementation.”

Clouds over Budget 2011
Another newer alternative media commentary with some pointed questions.

Why, for instance, must the Prime Minister’s official residence require a colossal allocation of RM65 million when, not too long ago, a modest allocation to upgrade and renovate the Penang Chief Minister’s official residence was shouted down and criticised?

How much was allocated to do the same for the residence of the Menteri Besar of Kelantan, another non-BN state?

Does the budget address the hardships of the urban poor? Does it make any sense to say that a 1% increase in the service tax will reduce the cost of living?

What happened to the New Village Master Plan approved some time ago? How much is allocated to it?

Will mega projects result in a reduction in the number of foreign workers?

Budget 2011’™s key strategies
Back to a free mainstream paper.

Budget 2011: Sabah & Sarawak Marginalised
Tony Pua tries to shout as loud as he can!

The vast contributions by the 2 East Malaysian states led by BN state governments to the BN-led Federal Government when contrasted against the meagre returns to the people of Sabah and Sarawak. It is not hence completely not surprising that the people of Sabah and Sarawak believe that they have been royally screwed and we have a Commonwealth Games gold medalist who chose to don Sabah colours and not that of Malaysia.