KUALA LUMPUR: The government is working on ways to alleviate the cost of living and job security issues faced by Malaysians, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Affirming that the necessary work had started, he said: “We hope we can do that maybe in the next budget (2020 Budget). Then we’ll be able to create jobs, especially for unemployed graduates. This is something that the previous government never focused on.
“I want to focus on the ordinary Malaysians, not so much on mega projects. I am sick and tired of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (fiasco),” he said.
Lim said this in a selected media interview at his office recently ahead of the first anniversary of Pakatan Harapan government after the 14th general election on May 9 last year.
According to the Department of Statistics January 2019 Bulletin, unemployment is one of the issues still plaguing the country with the overall unemployment rate stagnating at 3.3 per cent.
In March this year, Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the unemployment rate for graduates increased to 158,000 as at end-2018 from 137,400 at end-2017.
Lim said even though it was not disclosed in the 2019 Budget, the cost of living aid for bachelors and fishermen was disbursed from an additional funding derived from savings made by the government.
“I did mention in the winding-up speech of the budget that if we had the means, if there were resources that hopefully we could lay our hands on, then we would extend the aid,” he said.
Lim noted that an additional amount of about RM3.5 billion had been given back to the rakyat after the 2019 Budget was presented.
Asked the difference between being a finance minister and his previous post as Penang chief minister, Lim said: “You look at the budget. The budget of Penang is around RM900 million, while the budget of the federal government is RM315 billion.”
On whether the government would consider decentralising the federal budget to the states, he stressed the need to get the country’s finances in order first before embarking on the process.
Currently, state expenditure is determined by fiscal allocations from the federal government to the state governments, and the amounts given depend on political considerations. State governments are empowered to plan and implement their own development strategies.
Lim said the government was committed to addressing the economy, as well as to ironing out fiscal conditions and finances, before advocating and pushing for decentralisation.
“Personally, I am a supporter of decentralisation; but do not talk about decentralisation when you do not have funds and you have so much debt which you have to pay back. So what decentralisation are you talking about?” he asked.
Lim said it did not make sense for certain decisions to be made by “people thousands of miles away in Putrajaya.”
Citing schools as an example, he said: “The local people know about the conditions of schools (in their areas), what is the quality of education. So, shouldn’t they be able to give input, instead of everything being decided by an office 1,000 miles away, (the people from which) have not even gone down to see the real situation?” - Bernama