Malaysiakini : Gov't has grown 'fat and unwieldy'

The whopping increase of 16 percent in the operational expenditure of the 2009 Budget has raised uncomfortable questions that the government is getting too big to maintain itself.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a record budget of RM205.9 billion, of which the government's operational expenditure has been earmarked at RM154.2 billion.

This jump of RM25.4 billion, or 16.4 percent, is the highest-ever in the operational expenditure, which includes items such as rental, maintenance, emoluments, general supplies and services.

Tony Pua, DAP parliamentarian for Petaling Jaya Utara, finds this alarming.

"The government's proposed operating expenditure in 2009 of RM154.2 billion has exceeded the entire government's budget expenditure of RM136.8 billion by 12.7 percent just three years ago in 2006," he lamented in a statement.

"It is very difficult to fathom why the government's operating expenditure has to increase by as much as RM53 billion, or 52.4 percent, in just three years since 2006. It has more than doubled since Abdullah took over as prime minister in 2003."

Economy at risk of collapse

Pua called on the government to rein its operational expenditure which he said "has clearly grown fat and unwieldy and is becoming difficult to maintain".

"The government must act firmly to cut down on wastages, corruption and unfair contracts such as expensive repair and maintenance bills for poor quality construction like Middle Ring Road II, purchasing equipment with highly inflated prices as discovered by the auditor-general as well as lucrative compensations paid to toll concessionaires."

The DAP parliamentarian, who is a self-made millionaire, expressed concern that should the operational expenditure continues to balloon, the economy is at "risk of collapse in the near future".

"This rapid expansion of operational expenditure has deprived the country of sizeable funds for development expenditure which has greater economic multiplier effects.

"It has also resulted in a larger than necessary deficit in our budget, which leaves no surplus for our future generation."

Malaysia has registered a budget deficit 12 years in a row and it is projected to hit 3.6 percent of GDP in 2009.

news, photo n chart courtesy of Malaysiakini