YOURSAY | ‘Weeding out corruption is not just populist, it is what the rakyat wants.’

Najib brands Harapan’s shadow budget 'populist'

Anonymous 44199885: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak termed Pakatan Harapan’s shadow budget “populist,” saying that the proposals presented within are a reflection of the opposition coalition’s leadership – lacking in credibility and consistency.

Savings from wastage, cutting out middlemen, ridding the system of duplicity and redundancies, weeding out corruption, initiating open tenders, giving assistance to the poor and marginalised, giving incentives to the farmers, fishermen and Felda prospectors given a raw deal by the government, and working to raise our income are not just populist, it is what the rakyat wants and demands from our government.

Our resources and our money should be put to use for our benefit, not for the benefit of the few who have frittered away our money in Las Vegas casinos, luxury yachts, pink diamonds, penthouses and bungalows in London, New York, and Beverly Hills.

We demand and want a government that will recover the money stolen by Jho Low and his merry band of thieves, and not make excuses and shields him from the law.

We do not shed sweat and blood just so the elite in BN and their friends can live a life of luxury.

Clever Voter: Despite what Najib says about the alternative budget, the reality is that we are facing rising cost of living, more borrowing, weak ringgit, skyrocketing cost of public administration which eats up most of the budget, more leakages, and above all, an irresponsible government unaccountable for their mismanagement and misbehaviours.

It is amazing how they are still able to win the support of so many. Two sides debating objectively is what competition ought to be. But BN will win. With their propaganda machine, deep pockets, and best of all, an electoral system designed to their favour.

It's like a football game, only that they have additional players and the offside rule doesn't apply to them. And sometimes, it seems they don't even have a goalkeeper to beat.

The Analyser: Look past the words. And then think how much intelligent strategising has gone into what is clearly a populist budget. Populist being a polite way of saying “vote buying.”

Do you really think those one-line statements followed by a “think of a number” figure will go anywhere near solving the multitude of problems facing every aspect of society?

Party of Thieves: A populist budget is anytime better than a corrupt budget.

Harapan's budget loaded with goodies, lacks substance

Someone Out There: MIC treasurer-general S Vell Paari called the alternative budget put forth by Harapan “irresponsible,” “unsustainable” and “populist” because it promises to do away with the goods and services tax (GST), as well as increase oil royalties and taxes on the rich.

Vell Paari, you mismanaged Maika Holdings, losing the hard-earned money and the life savings of people who put their trust in you. Do you believe that you have any credibility left?

Sama2 Rojak: This man allegedly ruined Maika Holdings, a company which raised RM106 million. What credibility does he have to make such comments?

Worried Sick: The whole Indian community knows who this Vell Paari is and about Maika and the Telekom shares that were supposed to uplift the economic status of the poor Indians in the country.

Do you really think that they would want a man of this nature to represent them in the state assemblies or in Parliament?

Any political party that fields him as a candidate in the coming elections is just going to give away the seat to the opponent without the latter even campaigning.

Anonymous 381541456985626: I appreciate his criticism of the budget. But he should also criticise the ruling government’s upcoming Budget 2018, as no budget will be perfect.

Vell Paari is no different from other politicians who try to hold onto seats. But I want to ask him, has he gone hungry due to not having any money?

If he has, he would not be so quick to open his mouth just because it benefits himself at the expense of Malaysians.

The Analyser: The astounding feature of this alternative budget is that apart from a handful of comments on increased royalties to oil-producing states, there have been absolutely no comments or questions on the rest of the budget.

Does this mean it is perfect in every way? Or does it mean the righteous know-it-all minions, in fact, know nothing? They are serfs who will do as they are told and accept whatever is offered to them.

Don't be surprised if Harapan U-turns on GST too

Oscar Kilo: The only way to truly know if Harapan's budget will work is to vote Harapan into power. Otherwise, BN Strategic Communications deputy director Eric See-To’s analysis is just conjecture.

Anyway, how can you expect Harapan to come up with an actual budget when Harapan has no access to all the critical data which is classified and available only to the ruling government?

If you want to compare apples to apples, then you should do a comparative analysis of the BN versus Pakatan governments in Selangor and Penang.

The difference between BN and Harapan is that BN prescribes corruption, whereas Harapan proscribes corruption.

Just a Malaysian: Harapan’s biggest role in GE14 is to develop a strong coalition against BN as a check and balance. With two coalitions competing against each other, democracy can function.

We have seen how after 60 years, a very noble party can become a nest of thieves. So no matter how imperfect Harapan is, we need to support this process of growing a two-party system in Malaysia.

Responsible Malaysian: See-To, you have forgotten to mention the huge amount of losses due to corruption, abuse of power and mismanagement.

Correct these three shortcomings, anything is possible.

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