Selangor Journal

2017 Budget a short-term solution, citizens still burdened

BY HAFIZAN TAIB
KUALA LUMPUR, OCT 21: Various offers made by the government in the 2017 Budget were deemed merely as offering short-term solutions to citizens who will continue to be burdened with increased cost of living.
Ampang Member of Parliament Zuraida Kamaruddin said that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should think about long-term solutions to benefit citizens.
“Although Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) has been increased, it may not solve the problem.
“The wage increase issue has not been touch, we need minimum wage to be raised so that people can live more comfortably in the long-term”, she told SelangorKini outside Dewan Rakyat on October 21.
zuraida-kamaruddin
Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) believes that the Budget 2017 presented by Najib is unrealistic, and Pakatan MPs exited the hall before Najib finished his presentation.
The KEADILAN Women’s Chief added that various loan deals were meaningless due to the country’s declining overall performance, which proved that the government faced difficulties in delivering such promises.
She said citizens will undergo the same suffering, as reduced purchasing power leads to the probability of difficulties in repayment plans.
“BR1M has slightly increased but it is not a long-term solution.
“It is a budget that we cannot accept because the individual who presented it is not credible. He still needs to answer for the RM2.6 billion scandal.
“Therefore it was good that we exited the hall,” she said.Najib who is also Finance Minister, mentioned that BR1M amount to will be increased from RM1,050 and RM1,000 to RM1,200 for households in the e-Kasih list with a monthly income below RM3,000.
For households with earnings from RM3,000 to RM4,000, BR1M amount will be increased from RM800 to RM900.
Single individuals earning below RM2,000 will receive RM450, from RM400 previously.

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