PUTRAJAYA: Pakatan Harapan’s Alternative 2018 Budget is purely populist, lacks credibility and would deplete government finances if implemented, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
He said the problem with the Opposition is that they make grand promises but do not explain where or how it is going to be achieved. “If you look at the figures carefully, it cannot be done.”
Among others, the Alternative 2018 Budget proposes to abolish the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and tolls, increase petroleum royalty, and provide free higher education.
For example, all the countries that have adopted free higher education — one of the Alternative 2018 Budget initiatives — have very high tax rates in the range of 45-50 per cent.
“So which one do you want? You have to make a choice,” he said at a briefing to editors on the 2018 Budget here today.
Najib, who is also finance minister, said the Opposition makes such promises because their objective is to get into office, not whether they can deliver or not.
“But as a government, when we say something we must be able to deliver. That is the difference. The Opposition’s thought process is different from our’s,” Najib added.
He said the contradictions in Pakatan Harapan’s proposed economic budget stems from their lack of cohesive political leadership.
“Their proposals lack credibility and there’s inconsistency. Their measures are purely populist and cannot be backed by substance in terms of revenue. The measures are not doable and certainly not sustainable,” Najib said.