Umno sec-gen says no alternative Budget 2020, last year’s still valid

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — The Opposition will not be presenting its shadow Budget for 2020 when the government tables its version in Parliament tomorrow, Tan Sri Annuar Musa said today.

The Umno secretary-general gave the reason being the Opposition’s alternative policies which it presented in last year’s Budget are still valid.

“We are the Opposition, so our Budget in its policy is valid for two years.

“The government has to table the Budget every year because they need to have the figures. We, the Opposition do not have to table every year. We don’t have to table figures, but only policies,” the Keterah MP told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

Annuar said the Opposition Barisan Nasional (BN) will come out with an alternative Budget for 2021, together with PAS.

“We will table again next month as we have a new policy under Muafakat Nasional,” he said, referring to the Umno-PAS pact.

In its Budget 2019, BN pushed to reintroduce the goods and services tax (GST) repealed in 2018 by the ruling Pakatan Harapan, but at a reduced rate of 3 per cent.

Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, who is shadow finance minister, said then that BN sought to revive the GST in its alternative Budget titled “People’s Economic Initiative” because the replacement for the consumption tax, the sales and service tax or SST as it is known, had allegedly failed to lower the prices of goods and services.

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