BERA: Although it is a long way to go before the 15th General Election( GE15), the goodies and incentives announced by the government under 2020 Budget last Friday was akin to an election budget.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said while the previous government only made such announcements in the run-up to the general election, the Pakatan Harapan(PH) government would ensure such a budget is tabled annually.
He said PH had formulated a budget which had addressed the needs of people from all walks of life and layers of the society, despite it not being an election year.
"Everyone is aware that GE15 is still a long way but PH has formulated a detailed budget which touched on every segment of society, how to further strengthen the economy and achieve prosperity.
"Some PH members of parliament even described the budget as 'extraordinary' which indicated that the election is nearing but I told them that the election is still far, and we are not like the previous government," he said in his speech at the opening the Pahang DAP convention in Triang here today.
He said while the previous government tabled such budget (goodies) to win the election, PH was going the extra mile to bring changes and improve the people's livelihood.
"This is the New Malaysia and we table an inclusive budget to ensure no one of left out," he said.
Lim said that during tabling of the Budget on Friday, opposition lawmakers became somewhat aggressive in the Dewan Rakyat.
"Why? Because we are being genuine and the opposition cannot accept the budget which could be described as "perfect". I think they do not have any points to attack the good news (budget) that we announced.
"We covered everyone ... people living in urban and rural areas, special allowance for each imam, bilal (muazzin) and mosque custodians, allowance for Al-Quran and Fardhu Ain class teachers, civil servants ... if possible we want to table similar budget every year and go on to become a high income nation.
"When Budget 2020 was tabled, the opposition claimed that it will not become a reality ... this as they never tried it in the past," he said.
Also present at the convention was Pahang DAP chairman Leong Ngah Ngah and his deputy M Manogaran