Pakatan to step up campaign to expose BN’s 3Ds

The DAP has formed a team to uncover the 3Ds – deficit, debt and deceit – of the federal government.

GEORGE TOWN: The only way Pakatan Rakyat can deny Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority is to intensify its campaign to expose the ruling coalition’s successful cover-up of its 3Ds – deficit, debt and deceit.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that people have still not understood that the Barisan Nasional (BN) “has to borrow money to give the people unlike Pakatan”.

Pakatan’s successful debt reduction compared to the rising federal government’s debt has not been communicated to the public as a result of BN’s campaign of deceit.

“Neither has it sunk in the people’s hearts and minds that BN, unlike Pakatan, has to borrow to give people money,” he said.

Lim, who is Penang Chief Minister, warned that BN may regain its lost electoral ground and parliamentary two-thirds majority if Pakatan slackens in its campaign to expose BN’s debts and deceit.

“Not only we will fail to capture Putrajaya but BN may even win back its two-thirds majority if Pakatan fails to expose the 3Ds,” Lim, the Bagan MP, said in his blog posting.

He said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s clearest indication yesterday of snap polls was buoyed by BN’s successful cover-up of the 3Ds.

Lim also said that a group of DAP economic researchers would work closely with the party’s general election preparatory team to expose the 3D cover-up.

The researchers will be led by its publicity secretary and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua while the election team will be headed by national vice-chairman and Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai.

Lim said that BN knew that economic matters, especially those related to reducing the escalating cost of living, would be the most crucial election issues.

Fighting graft: BN’s given up
Lim also said that BN has given up convincing the public that it was serious in combating graft following the recent revelation of the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation scandal and country’s decline in the anti-corruption rankings of Transparency International from No 37 in 2003 to No 60 last year.

However, he said BN has successfully deceived the public into believing that the menace of corruption had not adversely affected the economy, especially the federal fiscal debts and deficits.

BN has claimed that the federal government budget deficit was RM43 billion in 2010, about RM45.5 billion in 2011 and projected to be RM43 billion in 2012.

In terms of percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit was 5.6% in 2010, 5.4% (estimates) in 2011 and 4.7% (estimates) in 2012.

“These budget deficit figures are way too low as the country’s projected economic growth is too high while operating expenditures are too low,” said Lim, who is an accountant by profession.

He forecasts that the budget deficit, estimated at 4.7% of GDP in 2012, would rise to over 5.5% due to BN’s determined vote-buying with government cash handouts, civil service pay hike and mega projects such as the roll-out of broadband to all schools.

He pointed out that the Pakatan state governments were giving out social assistance from annual budget surpluses achieved in the past four years.

He said the Pakatan governments do not need to borrow to spend on social appreciation programmes for the people.

BN borrowing money
On the contrary, he said the BN federal government had to borrow to disburse cash due to budget deficits incurred in the past 15 years.

Thus, he said that federal debts have leapt by 71% from RM266 billion in 2007 to RM456 billion in 2011.

He cautioned that the federal debt in 2010 would leap by another RM97 billion if contingent liabilities of loans taken by private companies or government agencies, were included.

Contingent liabilities for 2011 were, however, unavailable.

Lim reminded Malaysians of a day of reckoning when debts have to be repaid.

“Ultimately, the ordinary people are the ones who will pay for all these debts…,” he said.

In 2010, the off-balance sheet financing activities hit a record high of RM96.9 billion, a 14.9% increase from RM84.3 billion in 2009.

Lim said these were loans taken with a government guarantee, which means the government was obligated to pay should borrowers failed to settle the debts.

For instance, Lim said that if the Federal Territories Foundation (FTF) could not repay the proposed RM300 million loan from the Employees Provident Fund to provide financing for the low-cost housing purchasers, then the government will have to step in to make the RM300 million payment to EPF.

He noted that the federal government loan guarantees would increase dramatically with the West Coast Highway project worth RM2.24 billion; the RM20 billion to fund the first phase of the RM53-billion Klang Valley MRT mega-project; the construction of 74 police headquarters with government-guaranteed RM10 billion debt by Ministry of Finance-owned Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd; and the proposed RM20 billion sukuk plan by Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) to restructure the country’s water assets.

“These loan guarantees are debt exposures to the federal government that must be included in our total debt figures,” said Lim.

In contrast, he said the state government debts in Pakatan states have dropped dramatically just as the BN federal government debt has soared.