'LEADERS ARE SLEEPING': 'My concern is they are still in a state of denial. A responsible position would be to say, okay, we are having this crisis, it may come to recession, it may not come to recession, but we have to handle it.' - Mr Anwar, raising his concern about the economy and the national budget. He is seen here arriving at Parliament House. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday attacked the government’s budget for next year, saying it was ‘irrelevant’ in the wake of the current global meltdown.
Making his first speech in Parliament in more than 10 years, he said about 44 per cent of government revenue in the 2009 budget was based on crude oil prices being at US$125, whereas oil is now at US$80.
The former deputy prime minister and finance minister spoke from the opposition benches, claiming that there had been a capital flight of RM125 billion (S$53 billion) in the first half of the year.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the new finance minister, had announced foreign direct investments of only RM31 billion, he added.
The opposition leader slammed government leaders whom he accused of ’sleeping in broad daylight’ and of being in a ’state of denial’ as the world’s economy collapsed.
‘If the new finance minister is truly responsible, he must table a new budget,’ he said, adding that the government must review spending on mega-projects and roll out plans to handle any effects of the global turmoil.
Datuk Seri Najib took over the post of finance minister last month from Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. Datuk Seri Abdullah had presented the 2009 budget at the end of August.
Datuk Seri Anwar said even neighbouring Singapore, with its robust economy, has fallen into a recession while Malaysia continues to insist it is able to weather the storm.
Both Mr Najib and Mr Abdullah were absent when Mr Anwar spoke.
Mr Abdullah told reporters elsewhere that the Malaysian banking system is not facing a liquidity crunch like banks in the United States and Europe.
He said Malaysia is ‘not going into recession at the moment’.
‘We have some very strong economic fundamentals. And we have very strong reserves. Our trade surplus is still strong…Our savings are also very high,’ he added.
The RM208 billion budget announced by Mr Abdullah in August outlined higher development spending that is expected to boost the fiscal deficit to 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product this year and 3.6 per cent in 2009.
Mr Anwar told a news conference during a Parliament break: ‘My concern is they are still in a state of denial. A responsible position would be to say, okay, we are having this crisis, it may come to recession, it may not come to recession, but we have to handle it.’
He claimed Mr Najib was preoccupied with approving projects worth billions of ringgit without tender instead of working to tackle the economic situation.
Mr Anwar pointed to ‘mega’ deals such as the RM11.3 billion high-speed broadband project, the controversial purchase of PT Bank Internasional Indonesia by Maybank, and the purchase of 12 new helicopters for the Defence Ministry worth RM1.5 billion.
He also slammed Mr Abdullah and Mr Najib for not being present during the debate, calling it a ’sheer arrogance of power’.
Mr Anwar was returned to Parliament after winning back his old seat in Penang in a by-election in August. He has been appointed by the opposition parties as Parliamentary Opposition Leader.
His targeting of Mr Najib is seen as a strategy to weaken the leader who has been anointed as the next prime minister when Mr Abdullah steps down next year.
Last week, the opposition said it may table a vote of no-confidence against the PM this week but yesterday Mr Anwar indicated it may abandon the plan in order to focus on the budget for now.
The Straits Times
Singapore
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