Biggest-ever Budget, and other news you may have missed

KINI ROUNDUP | Key headlines you may have missed, in brief.

1. Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has proposed Malaysia’s biggest Budget ever at RM322.54 billion amid the pressure to spend more to counter the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic impact. He appealed for MPs to embrace the spirit of unity in supporting its proposals.

2. At the same time, the number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia has reached a record-high of 1,755 cases in a single day. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also outlined the criteria it considers when deciding whether to recommend for a conditional movement control order (CMCO) to be imposed in an area.

3. The increased spending despite slashed government revenue comes at the cost of aggravating Malaysia’s national debt, which stood at RM1.2 trillion as of June this year. It expects to borrow RM85.37 billion to fund next year’s spending and spend 12.1 percent of its budget to service existing debts.

4. Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun caved under pressure from MPs to make an exception and allow all MPs to enter the parliament chambers during Tengku Zafrul’s budget speech, despite an earlier agreement to limit attendance to 80 MPs.

5. The slew of initiatives announced yesterday includes a targeted loan moratorium and telco credit for B40 (bottom 40 percent) income earners, e-wallet credit for youths, subsidies for farmers and fisherfolk, and Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat cash handouts.

6. Workers’s groups and activists said the budget proposal was a disappointment, with nothing substantial to offer ordinary workers apart from the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat payments. MIDF Research, meanwhile, said the proposal showed the government’s commitment to help B40 and M40 (middle 40 percent) income earners.

7. Opposition MPs took issue with the proposal’s RM85.5 million budget to revive the Special Affairs Department (Jasa) propaganda unit and the fact there is no funding for Chinese independent high schools. Damansara MP Tony Pua questioned how the government could achieve its plan to increase personal income tax revenue while reducing income tax.

8. Warisan said it has identified a candidate for the Batu Sapi by-election who will be announced on Nov 22, a day before nomination day for the election. Meanwhile, de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan said the Election Commission is preparing to hold the next general election only after the Covid-19 pandemic.

9. Former human resources minister M Kula Segaran has urged for an investigation after a former manager made allegations of workplace racism before ramming his car into his former office and set it ablaze. He was killed in an accident when fleeing the scene.

10. Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin has donated a new motorcycle to a food delivery rider whose motorbike was stolen at Batu Caves recently.