COMMENT | The most depressing takeaway from the budget presented in Parliament is that it is the most racially configured of budgets in the nation’s history. Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim has tweeted: “Nice to be Bumiputeras… billions set aside,” noted Zaid in a tweet. “(This) must be the only country in the world where (the) Budget is race-specific.” He also added that it was also “nice” to be a civil servant since they were “always getting cash handouts”.

According to official estimates, Budget 2022’s allocation for the bumiputera community comes up to RM11.4 billion, while the amount for the non-bumiputera communities is about RM300 million or a 2.6% equivalent. This works out to about RM577 per bumiputera, RM75 per Indian and RM15 per Chinese.

Even this lopsided bumiputera figure may be an underestimate. Does it, for example, include the allocations of RM1.5 billion for Islamic affairs, RM140 million for Islamic amd ‘pondok’ school maintenance, and various other bumiputera allocations ‘accidentally’ missed out, hidden or disguised?

We know how official data is routinely manipulated to provide the impression of even-handedness and fairness on racial issues. The current budget statistics may be no exception to the racial sleight of hand regularly practised by our policymakers to reinforce the false picture of an inclusive and non-discriminatory society.

Also, unjustifiable and unconscionable is the so-called one-off...