PETALING JAYA, 1 Apr: Claims by the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah that the implementation of the People’s Manifesto will increase national deficit to 11.5 percent is deemed unfounded and absurd.
In addition, he also claimed that the national debt will increase to 62.1 percent compared to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and will result in the government being forced to be in debt to pay the salaries of civil servants.
PKR Strategy Director, Rafizi Ramli, said that all the allegations made without presenting any data or calculations is in contract to Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) discipline in always defending its economic plans by using clear facts and figures.
He stressed that Ahmad Husni is still in the old political cocoon which assumes that the people will receive everything without figures, quoted by a minister even though it makes no sense.
“Recently, the people requires for any political party that presents its policies to also include a complete analysis as evidence.
“This has been done in detail by PR shortly after the People’s Manifesto was presented, complete analysis on the cost of each programme and how it will be financed is presented to the people so that it can be studied and criticised,” he said in a press conference at the PKR headquarters today.
Rafizi added that until now, Ahmad Husni still has yet to present an analysis that proves that PR financial calculations are inaccurate.
Umno-BN is not only unable to produce a complete financial analysis; in fact they are also trying to conceal all failures of economic management under their administration.
“The problem of the prolonged national deficit since 1998 was actually started by the Umno-BN economic management.
“Despite the country’s dramatic increase in revenue, particularly with the increase in crude oil prices since 2008, Umno-BN did not use the opportunity to cut the deficit, instead the additional revenue was used as an excuse to spend extravagantly while the deficit remains although the country’s revenue has increased,” he added.