Stop tabling race-based budgets, Xavier tells govt

 

Independent MP Dr Xavier Jayakumar says race- and religious-based budgets will affect national unity.

KUALA LUMPUR: A former federal minister has urged Putrajaya to stop tabling race- and religious-based budgets or risk failing to achieve national unity in the future.

Dr Xavier Jayakumar (Ind-Kuala Langat), who was a minister when Pakatan Harapan was in power, said the annual budgets seemed to be race-based every year, with issues raised over how much a certain ethnicity was allocated.

He urged Putrajaya to reconsider the matter and formulate a “reasonable development budget for the future of the Malaysian Family” instead.

“If we continue with race- and religious-based budgeting, our country will not achieve unity in the future,” he said while debating the 2022 Supply Bill in the Dewan Rakyat.

Xavier also expressed disappointment at the RM32.4 billion allocated for the health ministry, saying it was not suitable and “unacceptable”.

He said he had repeatedly urged for the health ministry to be allocated funds totalling at least 2% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), or to be raised even up to 12% of the GDP.

He pointed out that 70% of the people would seek medical treatment in government clinics and hospitals, but 70% of specialists were working in private practice.

“Without increasing the health ministry’s spending, what we will see is bottlenecks in hospitals while our experts migrate to private practice due to the lack of positions (in public health facilities).

“This is an issue we see now with our contract doctors. We don’t want a temporary solution but a plan for the future, maybe 10 to 15 years from now,” he said, warning that making changes in another health crisis would be too late.

The former PKR vice-president also asked for an update on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, citing reports in March that Putrajaya would incur about RM1.25 million in losses a day with the project on hold.

This followed the Selangor government’s decision to postpone the realignment agreement for the rail project.

He asked why the government was more willing to pay the RM1.25 million daily instead of considering the other ECRL alignment.

Xavier also warned other MPs to be mindful of their words when debating issues, citing the recent discussions in Parliament over the controversial Timah whisky brand.

“Pay attention to what you are saying. It is important because the world is listening and Malaysia depends on the world for more investments,” he said. - FMT