LDP hopes priority projects can proceed
KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is mindful of the limitations due to the economic problems in the country but nevertheless hopeful that some of the priority projects could still proceed in Sabah, especially in security, education, job opportunity and infrastructure development.
Its president Datuk Chin Su Phin said the Budget 2019 should not be compared with the previous budgets as the new government had only taken over about six months ago.
“We know how difficult it is to do a turnaround and there is only so much you can do in such a short span of time.
“Malaysians should not get their hopes up, as the new government needs to deal with the massive debt, especially from 1MDB and the restructuring of some mega projects,” he said when commenting on the Budget 2019 tabled by the Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in parliament last Friday.
While the government did scrap a number of megaprojects, Chin said the administration did well to care for the welfare of the people.
He said the national budget for 2019 was RM314.5 billion, representing an 11 per cent increase from 2018, revolving around the theme “Malaysia Wibawa, Ekonomi Dinamik, Rakyat Sejahtera”, reflecting many efforts to take care of the B40, as well as sufficient allocations for important sectors like education and healthcare.
He said big-budget allocation, which was RM 60 billion on education, would certainly improve the quality of education in local institutions.
“We require more Malaysians to be trained and ready for the job market in order for the country and the industry to fully implement automation manufacturing and industry 4.0 initiatives.”
Meanwhile, he said the highest health allocation in history which was nearly RM29 billion, an increase of 7.8 per cent compared to the previous year, would strengthen the delivery of health services to all including the rural and urban poor.
“The introduction of the National B40 Health Protection Fund would enhance the health protection for the lowincome group, in addition to the existing public health services.
“This fund was good for the people but the scope should be widened to M40 since that many have yet to have health insurance for themselves and their family members.”
Furthermore, Chin said allocation for Sabah and Sarawak had also been increased to RM5 billion and RM4.436 billion, respectively.
Although the details of this allocation are still not clear and how it will be distributed, he said the amount was still bigger than previous budget and the continuation of the Pan Borneo Highway project that began under the Barisan Nasional administration is highly appreciated.
“We are mindful of the limitations due to economic problems in the country but nevertheless hopeful that some of the priority projects could still proceed in Sabah especially in security, education, job opportunity and infrastructure development.”
On the other hand, he said this budget helped Malaysians that needed it the most.
He said increasing welfare of the B40 could eventually lead to stimulating the economy.
“It could be a bottomup approach with the B40 becoming the catalyst for a stronger economy.
“The subsidies are granted to low-income earners, who tend to have a higher propensity to spend for each extra ringgit they get.
“Hence, the smaller amount of subsidies is believed, to some extent, being able to fuel private consumption as the nation’s economic growth engine in 2019.”