Govt to address country’s structural issues in Budget 2022

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has started working on Budget 2022 to address the country’s structural issues while rolling out Budget 2021 to ensure the country’s future measures are not only strategic, but also targeted, onpoint and outcome-based, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

Referring to Budget 2022 and the 12th Malaysia Plan, Tengku Zafrul said there are structural issues that cannot be solved overnight, requiring deeper consideration and longer-term planning.

“The government has started working on fresh ideas for Budget 2022 even as we roll out Budget 2021 measures and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is looking at these ideas in a more holistic manner,” he said during the Bursa Malaysia Forum, aired on BernamaTV (Astro 502) yesterday.

The upcoming 12th Malaysian Plan (MP), for the 2021-2025 period, and Budget 2022 would address issues including human capital policies and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We need to revamp Malaysia’s human capital policies, whereby, for instance, a Malaysian graduate is happy to work as a waiter at a restaurant in a neighbouring country because of the higher pay, while jobs that are considered dirty, dangerous and difficult were done by foreign workers here,” he elaborated in the programme, themed Menang Bersama: Rebuilding Malaysia’s Economy Together.

He said the situation reflected on a serious underemployment issue, which could be due to lower wages for graduates in this country, which could, in turn, be due to wage increase not being on par with productivity or increase in skills and an industry-education system mismatch.

“Hence, (we need to) come up with a holistic solution and this requires a longer-term planning and cooperation across various ministries and the private sector to produce a workforce that stands ready for challenges in the digital era, and for areas like agritech, edutech, mobility and Artificial Intelligence,” he added.

On the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance and Malaysia’s Shared Prosperity Vision, Tengku Zafrul said Budget 2021 is the first budget aligned to the SDGs, while the 12th MP will provide a more holistic blueprint towards sustainable growth, strengthening socioeconomic inclusivity as well as better environmental sustainability.