SHAH ALAM, 18 Jan: Selangor is able to continue a variety of programmes that help the people such as the Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES) scheme and to support other important expenses if the Federal Government’s financial problems become more critical.
The ability is due to excellent financial management by controlling wastage, being transparent and totally rejecting the culture of corruption practiced by the state government led by the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Strategy Director, Rafizi Ramli, said that the practice is the key factor that allows for the state government to collect almost RM3 billion in reserves.
“This is one of the reasons why we have to defend Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Good financial management is able to cover shortages if the Federal Government’s financial worsens and Selangor can still safeguard programmes that help people from the state government savings and assets.
“The state government has the ability to continue various existing programmes to help the people when the federal government does not have the capability to implement them because they do not have a strong financial and property position like Selangor does,” he said when interviewed by Selangor Kini at the PKR Headquarters recently.
He said that the people of this country, including those in Selangor, will be affected by new policies that the federal government is forced to implement to address federal financial problems that is worsening.
“The power to set the rates of interest, petrol, essential goods, salaries and many other policies are set by the federal government. The state government has more authority in matter concerning land and if problems crop up, the federal government’s weak financial position will cause interest rates to go up and the salaries of civil servants to go down,” he said.
Meanwhile, civil servants under the state government scheme and those whose salaries are paid as support levels will survive from salary cuts and retrenchment schemes that may be implemented by the state government to reduce federal spending.
Previously, Rafizi said that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is expected to take steps to reduce the number of public servants and to cut salaries is they fail to control our national debt, which has reached 55 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
He said that the measures taken will be to follow the requirements set by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank if the government is forced to take a loan from any of the bank stated to generate government funds.
On 25 November 2013, the Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Ahmad Maslan, said in Parliament that the national debt has increased to RM529.6 billion or 53.6 percent compared to the GDP, thus almost reaching 55 percent of the authorised debt ceiling.