For the first time in 50 years, the annual government budget has been reduced into a “social occasion” with the Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah “dropping by’ the Finance Ministry on the night of the eve of the Budget Day for a photo-op.
The 27-page budget read out by Abdullah in Parliament yesterday was themed “Together Building the Nation and Sharing Prosperity” — which contained a slew of goodies with the next general election imminent in the next six months.
DAP presented for the first time an alternative budget, themed “Malaysian First — Unity Driven Equity: Growth & Innovation”.
The main thrust of the 52-page DAP proposed Budget 2008 would be to establish the conditions of good governance that permits hardworking and talented Malaysians to get on with the business of creating wealth and succeed in life.
More importantly the government must learn to get out of the way and not intrude on the people’s activities unnecessarily. The real win-win solution is where every Malaysian learns together, grows together and reaps the rewards together.
You can download the PDF copy of the proposed DAP Malaysian First Budget 2008 here.