Anticipated themes in Budget 2018

ing the Future”, the Government is expected to implement measures that would be favourable in achieving the TN50 objective. According to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, most of the inputs from TN50 roadshows and dialogues across the country would be considered under Budget 2018.

The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), introduced in 2010, managed to arrest the downward trend in Malaysia’s economic growth.

“Growth slowed to 4.5 per cent in the ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP, from 2006 to 2010), before bouncing back to 5.3 per cent in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP, from 2011 to 2015) from an average of 9.5 per cent a year in the 6th Malaysia Plan (6MP, from 1991 to 1995),” AffinHwang Capital said.

“However, economic growth appears to be losing some momentum again – as it is estimated to grow at an average 4.8 per cent a year in 2016 to 2017.”

Towards this end, the government provided an early glimpse of its next transformation programme – termed as TN50 – which was announced in last year’s budget. Along these lines, the theme for the upcoming 2018 Budget is “Shaping the Future”.

This represents, in Affinhwang Capital’s view, a shift in focus from previous budgets – that of fiscal discipline – to one that emphasises on the country’s aspirations for the next 30 years under TN50.

“It also means the government would likely place a lot more emphasis on economic development that uses technology to make advancements,” it added. Engaging the public opinion

To get feedback from the public, the government had set up a special interative website, https://bajet2018.najibrazak.com.

The website was open from September 4 to 18 with 14 categories in the website which are of relevance and importance to be presented. Among them were digital economy, the cost of living, housing and urban life, healthcare services, transport and infrastructure, rural development, environment and agriculture, youth and sports, culture and tourism, public safety and transparency.

On September 20, Najib said 13,837 ideas and proposals were received through the Budget 2018 ‘crowdsourcing’ campaign carried out for 15 days from September 4 to 18.

The Prime Minister said a preliminary scrutiny found that jobs, cost of living, education, taxation, commerce and finance as well as transportation and infrastructure were among the hot topics raised and thus reflected the priority of the people today.

He said all suggestions have been noted down and are seriously scrutinised for consideration by the government.

“This is an appropriate move towards democratising the process of drawing up the national budget, a document that would have a significant impact on the direction that the nation is heading for,” he added.

“I understand that many people were also calling for tax exemptions to help in tackling the cost of living for the middle income group, tax exemptions for sports activities and tax exemptions for the maintenance of private vehicles,” he added. Keeping up with costs of living

Meanwhile, the outcome of a separate study entitled ‘Public Perception Towards the 2018 Budget’ indicates the people are looking forward to effective measures and more benefits to keep up with the rising cost of living.

The nationwide study conducted by KAJIDATA reveals the benefits outlined in the budget will help them tide over the rising cost of living and help the country forge ahead.

KAJIDATA’s computer-aided telephone interview study was carried out from July 26 to Aug 4, 2017 using random stratified sampling with 1,039 respondents from all levels of the society.

Established in 2015, KAJIDATA’s mission is to effectively acquire and see beyond data and unearth actionable insights.

The study was conducted to gauge public awareness on the tabling of the 2018 Budget and to evaluate public perception on the measures introduced in the 2017 Budget.

Professor Syed Arabi Aidid, KAJIDATA’s advisor, said respondents from the B40 segment, those earning below RM3,000, wanted the government to continue looking into their plight in the 2018 Budget.

“The findings note that 90 per cent of the respondents want the government to continue giving emphasis on comprehensive healthcare, employment opportunities, and help senior citizens above 65 and single mothers to sustain themselves.

“They also hope that the people’s cash aid scheme BR1M will continue in 2018, with 69.6 percent of the respondents saying the BR1M announced in the 2017 Budget has achieved its objectives in helping the deserving group,” said Syed Arabi, who is also the former rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia.

In their 2018 Budget wish list they also want to see the government doing more to enhance the quality of education (89.6 per cent), reduce the cost of living (88.8 per cent), improve public transportation (87 per cent), spend more on development and infrastructure (82.4 per cent) and continue to subsidise selected items (80 per cent).

This week, BizHive Weekly explores potential thematic plays that could be the highlight of Budget 2018: