Budget 2016 to provide for low-income households, says Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak says Budget 2016 will take into consideration the bottom 40% household income group. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 15, 2015.

Budget 2016, to be tabled on October 23, will ensure that the bottom 40% household income group continues to have opportunities for and access to higher education and skills training so that they have stable and better jobs, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The prime minister said the budget would also make provisions for the B40 households to enjoy affordable houses, higher income, acquisition of wealth and quality of life.

"Budget 2016 is important because of the most challenging global economic situation. It cannot be denied that the global economic uncertainty we see today has more or less jeopardised the Malaysian economic situation and raised concerns among certain sections of society.

"In this context, the B40 households are the most easily affected and in need of job stability and higher income to meet the costs of education, house ownership and cost of living," he said in his latest post on his blog.

Nevertheless, he said the government had to ensure the capital economy remained active to generate the people economy, and the two economies had to be enhanced to bring the nation to the level of the high-income countries by 2020.

Najib also said he would submit ideas from the people to the Finance Ministry through the #Budget2016 campaign for comprehensive evaluation. 

Many of those who provided suggestions during the campaign, held from September 1 to 18, had asked the government to help ease the daily burden, particularly of those in the low-income group.

"Many also expressed concern over the high cost of houses, which was beyond their means.

"There were also suggestions for the government to not only improve the public transportation network in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley but also invest in new KTM or LRT projects in the urban centres in the other states," he said.

Najib said in a survey carried out on his blog from September 18 to October 1, cost of living, housing and life in the cities, and education were the three important categories selected by the people in the implementation of Budget 2016.

- TMI