The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

A philosophical comparison of the budgets

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 05:12 PM PDT

OCT 11 — And so it has come to this. The last push. With the general election expected soon, both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional are preparing themselves for the final assault. Barricades have been erected, cannons lined up and guns trained on the other side. In the last week, we have witnessed the opening salvos launched by both sides.

First to the tilt was Pakatan Rakyat with a modest offering encapsulated in the title "kesejahteraan untuk semua" or "prosperity for all'. And just as it was about to gain traction the ruling Barisan Nasional descended with a no-holds-barred mega welfare budget, coincidentally called "bajet membela rakyat, mensejahtera negara", or "defending the people and prosperity for the country".

Without a doubt, both sides have angled the budget with an election in mind. Thus, there is no escaping the menial comparisons between the two sets of proffered "goodies" — RM500 for lower-income households compared to RM1,000 for lower-income housewives, or cash and book voucher bonuses for students compared to RM700 childcare allowances, or a restructuring of teachers' salary schemes compared to an outright increase in teachers' allowances. In short, most comparative discourse has been about whose sack contains bigger and better presents — Santa Najib or Santa.

On the surface, both appear to be quite similar in intent and target, namely, to help alleviate the rising cost of living particularly amongst the lower-income groups. Yet the philosophical formulation of the two documents cannot be more divergent. Breaking through the sheath of populist pronouncements, one would discover a sharp contrast between the underlying ideologies that define the two budgets.

Take the position on expenditures. Again, both appear similar on paper — BN's RM232 billion compared to PR's RM220 billion, with BN curtailing the long-running national deficit to 4.7 per cent of GDP compared to 4.4 per cent for PR, though the latter is based on a more conservative GDP projection. However, closer inspection would reveal that the essence of PR's spending policy is necessarily tempered by a commitment to prudence, efficiency and sustainability.

For example, the PR document promises to issue Approved Permits (APs) at market value, thus raising RM1.2 billion in what can only be described as lost revenue. In addition, an open tender system as well as an Unfair Public Contracts Act is promised in order to increase value-for-money and to ensure public interest is protected. More importantly, there is also a commitment to reducing the Petronas dividend to 40 per cent of projected net profits, thus ensuring our national cash cow is able to plough its profits back for reinvestment.

The BN's spending approach, on the other hand, is really just about spending. In this case, reducing the deficit merely means spending controls and reallocation of resources without necessarily addressing wastefulness, inefficiency and the need for sustainable economics.

Another key difference is the discretionary budget of the Prime Minister's Department (PMD). The BN's budget has carved out RM13.5 billion for the prime minister's use, while PR has pledged to reduce that amount by a third, returning it to the levels of half a decade ago.

Reducing the prime minister's spending is only half the story — the true intention of this exercise is to take steps towards decentralisation of power. Over the last few years, multiple new agencies have been created and parked under the blossoming aegis of the PMD. This has not only served to consolidate power under the prime minister, it has also emasculated various ministries which have seen their functions replicated and usurped.

Seen in this context, PR's reduction of PMD expenditure is therefore not only an attempt to return power to its rightful ministries, but more importantly to reduce the arbitrary power of the prime minister. Following this, a promise was also made by the opposition leader, coincidentally also the last finance minister to table a surplus budget nearly 15 years ago, that a PR prime minister would not concurrently sign the treasury cheques — another clear commitment to devolvement and decentralisation of power.

Both budgets also apparently target a very specific group — households with cumulative incomes of below RM3,000 — representing nearly 60 per cent of our population. To assist this group, BN is doling out cash bonuses of RM500 for each family, RM100 for schoolchildren and RM200 for tertiary students as a means of riding out the expected economic storm.

The PR budget, while also promising assistance in the form of a RM1,000 homemaker allowance and a RM1,000 bonus for the elderly, will also grant childcare allowances of RM700 a year in addition to the facilitation and establishment of certified childcare centres. This incentive is designed to encourage female participation in the workforce, thus increasing productivity and income of the targeted households.

In a more direct attempt to address the needs of the downtrodden, the PR budget also crucially commits to a minimum wage of RM1,100, in an attempt to reduce the reliance on cheap unskilled foreign labour as well as to ensure a humane floor wage for entry-level workers.

There are more examples. BN's approach to education is to build more facilities and renovate school buildings while PR talks about addressing the shortage of qualified teachers. For taxi drivers, BN seeks to lessen their burden with tax exemptions and incentives for vehicular upgrade while the PR budget promises direct permits to individual drivers, thus emancipating them from a monopolistic industry.

As for the sensitive issue of subsidies, BN's answer is a blind increase while PR pledges to maintain current levels of assistance on the one hand, while also breaking disadvantageous and market-distorting monopolies (like the Bernas stranglehold on rice imports) on the other.

Observing closely, one would find that the fundamental difference between the two budgets lies in their philosophical bases. The BN's instant remedy to economic malaise is to plaster the wounds with superficial cash assistance. On the flip side, the PR document is clearly informed by an ideological — or perhaps idealistic — commitment to citizen empowerment, increasing productivity and building sustainability.

And so not only is the BN's social welfare programme an ad hoc and ill-advised response to PR's alternative budget, it also appears to be a convenient façade to mask the huge infrastructural commitments that have escaped the public's attention, from hospitals to schools to army camps (read: projects for the boys).

In the other words, while the BN government's 2012 Budget may appear to be couched in the language of welfare, its ideological bearing appears to be pointing to business as usual — lubrication for the Umno machinery and cash inducements for the rest of the electorate.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Hudud kekal, Pakatan pun kekal

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 04:50 PM PDT

11 OKT — Kekecohan atas isu pelaksanaan hudud antara PAS dan sekutu Pakatan Rakyatnya terutama DAP telah diselesaikan dengan baik mengikut semangat muafakat Pakatan Rakyat.

PAS kekal boleh meneruskan dakwahnya bagi memperkenalkan hudud kepada masyarakat seumumnya dan mengakui hak DAP tidak bersetuju dengan pelaksanaan hukum itu.

Tetapi DAP yang tidak setuju itu pula mengaku hak PAS untuk memperkenalkannya yang menjadi cita-citanya sejak PAS ditubuhkan 60 tahun lalu.

Sekalipun terdapat perbezaan pandangan dan sikap atas perkara itu oleh kedua pihak, keduanya bersetuju, bahawa mereka tidak setuju atas satu perkara itu secara nyata tetapi mereka bersetuju dalam banyak perkara lain bagi menegakkan kerajaan bersama dan membina negara dan masyarakat yang adil dan kukuh.

Komponen Pakatan Rakyat dan penyokongnya berkongsi banyak yang boleh menjadikan Pakatan Rakyat satu muafakat politik yang kuat yang mampu mengambil alih tampuk pemerintahan dan sudah bersedia menjadi alternative kepada Barisan Nasional baik sebagai parti politik yang bertenaga dan sudah pun kerajaan yang menunggu.

Pada masa bersetuju mengadakan kerjasama pilihan raya menjelang PRU 1999 dulu dan membentuk Pakatan Rakyat selepas PRU 12 tahun 2008 dulu, DAP dan PKR sudah pun tahu bahawa hudud adalah satu cita-cita PAS sejak mula, dan PAS juga tahu bahawa DAP tidak tertarik dengannya lama sebelum kedua-dua pihak boleh duduk semeja.

Perbezaan itu telah wujud sejak awal tetapi perbezaan itu tidak menghalang kedua pihak untuk mengadakan kerjasama politik yang besar hingga kini Pakatan Rakyat berjaya melayakkan Malaysia menyamai negara-negara demokrasi dan maju di dunia mempunyai lebih dari satu kerabat parti poliltik alternatif yang kuat.

Britain dan Amerika ada parti pemerintah dan parti pembangkang yang menjadi kerajaan yang menunggu. Begitu juga Perancis, Jerman, Australia dan lain wujud lebih dari satu parti yang bergilir-gilir menjadi kerajaan atau menjadi pembangkang mengikut keputusan rakyat dalam pilihan raya.

Malaysia sejak merdeka tahun 1957 dan sejak pembentukan Malaysia tahun 1963 tidak ada kedewasaan politik yang kondusif seperti itu, hingga meletakkan BN yang dulunya Periktan parti yang monopoli kuasa dan menapikan hak rakyat membuat pilihan.

Sekalian ahli fikir dan penggiat politik tahu bahawa kuasa itu korap dan kuasa sepenuhnya terdedah kepada korap sepenuhnya. Sekalipun Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra dan Umno memperkenalkan amalan demokrasi kepada masyarakat negara, justeru monopoli politik yang tidak dapat dipecahkan, menjadikan negara dan kerajaan rasuah sepenuhnya dan menyeleweng seadanya.

Rakyat sedar segala kepincangan itu dan rakyat jugalah yang menuntut supaya diwujudkan satu pakatan alternatif yang kuat yang boleh mencabar monopoli kuasa itu. Rakyat juga yang menuntut supaya parti-parti pembangkang yang banyak dan tidak cukup tenaga itu mengenepikan perbezaan atau mengurangkan perbezaan bagi membentuk satu gabungan parti alternatif yang kuat yang berupaya memecahkan monopoli kuasa yang rasuah dan menyeleweng itu. PAS, PKR dan DAP telah menyambut cabaran rakyat itu. Mereka sudah melupakan berbezaan itu kecuali dalam satu isu iaitu hudud. PAS tahu DAP tidak setuju hudud dan DAP tahu PAS tidak setia mengggurkan hudud. Kalau tidak boleh bersetuju dalam semua perkara, janganlah semua perkara tidak disetujui.

Lalu mereka bersetuju satu dua perkara yang tidak disetujui, tidak menghalang mereka mengadakan pakatan kerana mereka sudah bersetuju dalam banyak perkara.

Yang tidak bersetuju dengan hudud itu bukanlah DAP saja. Umno telah menzahirkan tidak setujunya lama sebelum DAP dan PAS mengadakan muafakat. Umno menganut Islam tidak bersetuju dengan hudud dan ia juga tidak setuju dengan banyak perkara yang PAS perjuangkan. DAP tidak menganut Islam, maka ia tidak setuju dengan hudud tetapi ia setuju dengan banyak perkara yang diperjuangkan oleh PAS.

PAS mengemukakan konsep negara berkebajikan yang mendukung cita-cita dan ajaran Islam. DAP menerimanya. PAS mahu hisbah, DAP tidak menolaknya. DAP mahu sebuah pemerintahan bersih dari rasuah, reaksi PAS pula ia juga yang PAS cita-cita.

Jika PAS terus bercakap tentang hudud dalam kontek adanya kerjasama dengan DAP dan lain, bukan ia tidak pelayan pendirian DAP tetapi adalah untuk menerangkan kepada masyarakat umum dalam dan luar negara betapa indahnya hudud dan hudud tidak mengancam keamanan dan anutan mana agama lain.

Cara PAS dan DAP menyelesaikan perbezaan dalam isu hudud itu membayang cara dan keupayaan mereka mengatasi segala masalah yang berbangkit kiranya rakyat memberi mandad mentadbirkan Putrajaya nanti.

Bagaimana kerajaan DAP di Pulau Pinang melayan isu Islam dan orang Islam mencerminkan sikapnya jika Pakatan diizinkan membentuk kerajaan pusat, dan bagaiama kerajaan Kelantan dan Kedah melayalan orang bukan Islam membayangkaan keadilan yang akan serlahkan dalam kerajaan bersama di Putrajaya nanti.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Selasa, 11 Oktober 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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