Govt to delay implementing some 100-day promises

PUTRAJAYA: The government is compelled to delay implementing some of the 100- day promises in order to ensure that the RM1 trillion national debt can be contained, if not reduced, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. These promises included:

● targeted petrol subsidies for cars below 1,300cc and motorcycles below 125cc ● Employees Provident Fund contribution scheme (EPF) for housewives ● increase in minimum wage ● deferment of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation loan repayment until the RM4,000 monthly income threshold.

These would also include ‘Skim Peduli Sihat’ which would only be implemented when the fi nancial situation improved, he added.

“As much as we would like to implement all of the 100- day promises, this federal government is fiscally responsible and would not follow the previous government’s example of fi scal imprudence which would almost certainly have led the nation on a path to bankruptcy.

“The federal government continues to be committed in implementing its manifesto promises when the financial situation permits,” he told press conference here yesterday.

Lim said the Ministry of Finance was focused on the government’s fiscal measures, especially on financial steps to be implemented to ensure the government’s financial position remained robust.

He said the measures included reducing the RM1 trillion national debt caused in part by financial scandals such as the 1Malaysia Development Bhd quagmire and to ensure that the budget deficit remained manageable.

The federal government would also ensure that the current balance is not in deficit, he added.

“That (debt) is the critical component,” he said.