Tengku Zafrul’s missed ‘golden opportunity’ for changes

 

Finance minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz presenting the 2022 budget on Friday. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The 2022 budget was a missed “golden opportunity” to make real changes, noted economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram told a public forum today, while an MP said budget proposals should come under greater parliamentary scrutiny.

Jomo, a noted economist and former government adviser, said the missed opportunity was “something quite sad”.

The 2022 budget, being a pre-election budget, was the perfect time for finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who is not an MP, to reduce the political elements in government budgets, he said.

Jomo also called for the government to move towards a more progressive tax system based on taxing income and wealth, rather than on consumption.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

He said tax initiatives introduced in the 1980s had shown that lower income and company taxes did not have the intended effects on investments. The notion that lower taxes on the rich would increase investment and drive growth was unfounded, he said.

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming, speaking at the same forum, called for greater budget oversight by parliamentary select committees to ensure effective spending.

Ong Kian Ming.

“They should be able to call in officials from the finance ministry or other ministries to provide reports of things that may be of concern,” he said. The committees should also be empowered to call up civil society members and academics to answer budget-related questions.

He gave the example of the US Congressional Budget Office, which publishes independent reviews of different budget initiatives.

Jomo and Ong were speaking at an online panel discussion on the budget organised by Persatuan Sains Sosial Malaysia this evening. - FMT