SHAH ALAM, 24 SEPT: The People’s Institute (IR) is questioning the high allocations to ministries as announced in the presentation of the Supplementary Supply Bill today.
The Executive Director of IR, Azrul Azwar, said the Ministry of Women, Family and Community only receives up to RM126,665.400 provisions surplus.
According to Azrul, these “one-off” payments are an invitation for leakages, including wastage, which was often reported in the media previously.
IR also would like to know if these payments will benefit the people or certain groups of people.
“It is awkward and worrying because if we look closer, there is just one too many ‘one-off’ – but who will benefit from it?” he asked.
Azrul further added that it is a worrying development because it shows that the government is failing at managing expenses more efficiently.
“Last year (2012), the government failed to meet the 4.5 percent deficit-to-GDP ratio target. Instead, it increased to 4.9 percent after taking into account all of the additional bills which totalled up to RM28.5 billion – RM28 billion for operation expenditures and RM500 million for development expenditures.
“The additional spending in 2013 may cause the debt ratio for the public GDP to exceed the limit of 55 percent from 45 percent in July 2009, and 40 percent in April 2008. By the end of this year, it will reach 53.3 percent – a new record among the highest in Southeast Asia,” said Azrul.