PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) has put forward 12 proposals for Budget 2022 to serve as a catalyst for recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, including a RM45 billion Covid-19 fund.
The proposals also contain detailed suggestions to help the nation recover and to give a leg up to struggling Malaysians.
The PH documents calls for a “bold expansionary fiscal policy to rapidly shore up the healthcare system and assist households and businesses”.
For instance, it seeks a RM5 billion allocation to more than double the monthly welfare payments to the poor and also struggling M40 families.
PH suggests that the current payment of RM1,300 for the hardcore poor be raised to RM2,500 and payment to the B40 be increased from RM800 to RM1,900. In addition, it proposes that those in the M40 who are affected be paid RM1,100 instead of the current RM250.
In terms of reform, PH calls for funds to be allocated to strengthen Parliament as a bipartisan platform and restore its role as an oversight institution for the executive. For instance, it wants resources to be allocated for the parliamentary special select committees so that they are at least equivalent to the Public Accounts Committee.
It wants at least RM4 billion to be given to the health ministry to upgrade hospital capacity, capability as well as medical equipment and human resources to address the Covid-19 pandemic-related stress on the system.
It wants the government to subsidise self-testing kits to create a more thorough culture of testing at the point of contact, stressing that the price must be affordable to the B40 group.
The Budget 2022 strategy was presented by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, DAP’s Tony Pua and Subang MP Wong Chen.
“We had a total of 13 budget engagements with the government and so far they have agreed in principle with our proposals. However, let’s see when they table the budget this Friday,” Wong Chen told reporters during an online press conference today after presenting the Budget 2022 proposals.
Given the financial scandals, PH proposes that the government migrate from cash-basis to accrual accounting.
It notes: “Past scandals highlight the urgent need to instill accountability and transparency in government processes. Weak record-keeping scandals gave room for manipulation and created opportunity for corruption.”
Among PH’s other proposals:
- Increase the special grant to Sabah and Sarawak under Section 112D of the Federal Constitution: PH proposes to quadruple the current rate to RM106.8 million for Sabah and RM64 million for Sarawak;
- Provide RM100 million worth of incentives to promote labour-intensive manufacturing in Sabah and Sarawak;
- Provide RM30 million to encourage export of Sabah and Sarawak food produce and products to the Peninsular;
- Allocate RM15 billion via economic grants and soft loans, matched with appropriate tax incentives, to immediately “pandemic-proof” workplaces, factories and workers’ quarters;
- Allocate RM2 billion towards low-interest small business loans (up to RM50,000 per loan) for micro, small and medium enterprises via BSN with an easy and flexible application process. Offer loan guarantees, grants and credit extensions especially to food and beverage, retail, tourism and local community-based businesses to aid their working capital cash flow and other commitments, such as rental obligations;
It says: “This allocation should also be distributed equitably and proportionately to women-owned businesses and the three main ethnic groups in Malaysia, reinforcing existing SME financing and entrepreneurship schemes for the Bumiputera (e.g. TEKUN Nasional), the Chinese (e.g. Skim Pinjaman Khas Penduduk Kampung Baru) and the Indians (e.g. Skim Pembangunan Usahawan Masyarakat India);”
- Pre-empt a possible wave of defaults and bankruptcies in the non-financial corporate sector by setting up a company similar to Danaharta to purchase non-performing loans from the banking sector and assist businesses in restructuring their loans;
- Allocate RM6 billion to provide work hiring incentives (Malaysia@Work programme) to assist the private sector create new jobs;
- Offer loan interest waivers to B50 households and those with gross household incomes of less than RM5,880 per month;
- Offer a RM100 million MSME and SME business restart matching grant of up to RM20,000 per grant as an incentive;
- Increase Agrofood facilities (such as low interest soft loans) as well as provide more investments on modern farming equipment. Increase the current cap of RM5 million per loan to RM10 million;
- Subsidise automation and mechanisation of farms and provide incentives for diversifying crop cultivation;
- Incentivise vertical urban farming to increase food security in cities. Introduce grants, concessions and/or seed funding for urban farmers, entrepreneurs, communities and buildings to engage in urban farming. Financing should also cover the training programme for the prospective urban farmers;
- Scale up the green technology financing scheme (GTFS) to stimulate both government-led and private-led green projects;
- Spur green projects such as energy performance contracts, solar leasing projects and waste-to-energy initiatives. PH proposes that the government earmark 1,000 suitable government buildings and premises to undergo retrofitting energy efficiency and renewable energy projects:
- Support the care services ecosystem by extending wage subsidy support programmes to care operators and allocate higher childcare subsidies;
- Establish seed funding of RM10 million to promote businesses that conduct home-and community-based care services as alternatives to institutional care;
- Provide a RM500 million matching grant to encourage digitalisation of business process and establish a one-stop digitalisation centre to assist small and medium businesses to apply for digitalisation incentives;
- Allocate RM250 million to provide fast internet access via towers and satellite services in rural Sabah and Sarawak to close the rural and urban digital gaps, and establish an innovation fund for local content developers to produce applications that run on 5G networks;
- Enhance social protection, especially for those in the informal and gig sectors of the economy;
- Auto-registration for EPF and Socso for those above 18 years old to ensure most new workers are included in the nation’s social protection scheme;
- Offer more allowances for families with special needs children;
- Provide at least RM45 million to train additional medical professionals in the psychiatric services, with the aim of providing at least one clinical psychologist and one mental health nurse for each of the 45 public hospitals offering psychiatric services. Currently, there are only 15 clinical psychiatrists serving in the system;
- Prepare the nation for potential nationwide hybrid digital and physical learning;
- Allocate funds to improve connectivity for schools and online teaching, and provide B40 children with access to devices for online learning through subsidies or grants;
- Provide special grants worth RM1.035 billion to meet the operational and capital needs of schools as well as to improve schools’ pandemic proofing capacity;
- Allocate RM200 million to repair and upgrade elevators located in densely populated public housing and another RM50 million to improve sanitation services;
- Expand the electric bus network by spending RM450 million to acquire up to 500 electric buses to serve as last-mile connectivity for MRT and LRT services;
- Allocate a RM20 million grant to support environmental NGOs, particularly those working to protect flora and fauna in Malaysia;
- Allocate RM50 million in one-to-one matching grants to support reforestation exercises done by the private sector;
- Implement an affordable housing programme specifically for Orang Asli, as well as second and third-generation Felda families that will allow them to relocate outside of their existing surroundings and close to the towns and cities;
- Set up a scholarship fund worth RM10 million that will sponsor children of Orang Asli and Felda families to attend city schools, residential schools, colleges and universities;
- Establish better mechanisms for observation and overseeing of domestic violence victims who seek care, support and protection. RM50 million should be set aside to create one-stop centres for them and another RM50 million should be allocated to improve existing shelters and build new ones for gender based violence victims; and
- Total development allocations to Sabah and Sarawak to make up 30% of the total development budget.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/10/27/phs-budget-2022-proposals-aim-to-speed-recovery-ease-suffering/