Questions over whopping RM6.85b budget for PM’s Department: KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — An opposition MP cast doubt today on the super hike of nearly RM7 billion set aside for the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) in Budget 2014, claiming the hefty amount hid a giant slush fund to be used for political purposes rather than the public good. In a statement, Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong highlighted several dubious items listed under the PMD’s 2014 allocation that he said could easily be “black holes” for the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to buttress its political support. “The items listed above is just the tip of the iceberg in the entire budget which is filled with discretionary ‘black holes’ that can be easily turned into slush funds to favour political supporters of the prime minister,” Liew said in a statement. Among the items in the list that Lim disputed were those described generally as “community restructuring”, “development programme”, “special projects”, “people-friendly projects” and “facilitation funds”. The total amount allocated for these items came to RM6,855,107,900. Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala had justified the increment as necessary to the PMD, which manages several key agencies which requires heavy funds like the powerful Economic Planning Unit (EPU). The opposition in criticising Budget 2014 pointed out that the increase in allocation for the PMD came amid Putrajaya’s call for the public to adjust to spending cuts and possible inflation from the rolling out of a new consumption tax, moves aimed at trimming its huge deficit. From RM14.6 billion this year, the PMD will be allocated RM16.5 billion for 2014; and from that amount, as much as 65 per cent are meant for “slush funds”, Liew said. “I call on the government and in particular minister Idris Jala to explain the usages of those items. The Auditor-General as well as Public Accounts Committee must look into this area as well”. The Najib administration’s austerity measures have come under severe scrutiny from the opposition who accused the BN government of hypocrisy. It claimed that while the government introduced policies that will force Malaysians to tighten their belts, profligacy reigns in Putrajaya. Yesterday, Liew’s DAP colleague fellow lawmaker Ong Kian Ming pointed to the high salaries of contract staff in the federal government as an example of Putrajaya’s extravagant spending, citing as examples how senior appointments were paid as much as RM69,000 a month while a Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) director can command RM49,000. Ong, who is Serdang MP, said such high wages — more than that of the Chief Secretary — had contributed to the 13 per cent increase in the budget for the PMD. The issue was also raised by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during his Budget 2014 debate where he described increase in PMD’s allocation as dubious. dlvr.it/4DYKL2
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 09:17:03 +0000