PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth has challenged Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s claim that oil revenue is becoming less important to public finance, saying the figures cited by him do not paint an accurate picture.
The issue began with a report by Nomura Global Research which voiced concern that Malaysia was too dependent on revenue from Petronas in bankrolling its budget.
Lim had rebutted this, saying that apart from the one-off dividend from Petronas, the government’s estimated dependence on petroleum was 19.5%, compared to 2009 when petroleum revenue made up 41.3% of government income.
Speaking to FMT Umno Youth vice-chief Shahril Hamdan said Lim could not exclude the one-off RM30 billion special dividend from Petronas and claim that the government was relying less on oil revenue.
He cited the Fiscal Outlook and Federal Government Revenue Estimates 2019, released by the finance ministry, which he said clearly states that petroleum income accounts for 30.9% of government revenue.
“Lim also failed to mention in his statement that from 2009 to 2017, the government’s reliance on oil revenue for income dropped tremendously from 41.3% to 15.7%.
“But after Pakatan Harapan took over last year, this increased to 21.7%. This year, it is 30.9%.
“This is why I cannot accept Lim’s claim that the government is relying less on oil revenue when the numbers indicate otherwise.”
In March last year, it was reported that Petronas had committed to paying a RM19 billion dividend to Putrajaya for 2018. In August, this was revised to RM24 billion.
Shahril said the previous Barisan Nasional administration, on the other hand, had steadily decreased reliance on oil revenue.
He urged the government to give an accurate picture of the economy, saying it could affect the confidence of the people, along with investors and international financial bodies.
“Just like the RM1 trillion debt claim, the government must be clear on the facts and figures,” he said. - FMT
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