SHAH ALAM: With the Federal budget and the Penang state budget already tabled, all eyes are fixed on the Selangor state budget which will be known on Wednesday.
Selangor is Pakatan Rakyat’s crown jewel, and the manner in which it manages the nation’s most developed state will come under the microscope.
After criticising the Federal Government’s Budget 2012, the pressure is now on Pakatan to show it can do better.
Being a good opposition does not automatically make the coalition a good government, and Pakatan will need to show, via Selangor, that it can do more than criticise Barisan Nasional with the 13th general election looming.
Never mind Penang, which tabled a deficit budget last month. It is in Selangor, where the fiercest battle between Barisan National and Pakatan will be fought.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak himself is leading Selangor Barisan.
And Pakatan’s “Prime Minister-in-waiting” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is Selangor’s economic adviser.
Unlike the Federal and Penang budgets, Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has already hinted at a balanced budget for next year.
It will most likely be a populist budget, with elections round the corner.
The allocation is expected to be around RM1.5bil, up from RM1.43bil allocated for this year.
Khalid must remember to keep expenditure within the budget, after a Parti Keadilan Rakyat politician was roundly criticised by Barisan assemblymen for needing two supplementary budgets this year, raising the total allocation to almost RM1.6bil.
Bukit Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San, of DAP, said it was normal corporate practice to keep the budget low and only request for additional allocation if there was extra revenue.
“We only spend on what we need and we do not take more than that.
“However, along the way, if there is a need to spend on something important, we will look into our account to see if there are enough funds,” said Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh, also of DAP.
From the RM1.5bil, expect plenty of handouts as Khalid has indicated that RM700mil will go towards welfare programmes.
MCA’s Kuala Kubu Baru assemblyman Wong Koon Mun said Pakatan was not doing more than Barisan in terms of welfare, but was merely better at attracting publicity for its efforts.
“Pakatan is spending a lot of money, but a lot of infrastructure and maintenance works are not done,” he said.
The state’s flagship free water scheme will continue to flow despite taking up more than 10% of the entire budget.
About RM150mil is allocated annually to provide 20 cubic metres of free water to each household but this year, an extra RM61mil was needed in the final third of the year to keep the scheme flowing.
Lau said besides the free water programme, RM500mil was given directly to the people via the “Mesra Usia Emas” (Senior Citizen Friendly) programme this year and he expected more to be dished out.
“I expect the Selangor Budget to follow the same budget trend for 2009, last year and this year, with a series of welfare and social empowerment programmes to assist the poor to keep up with the rising cost of living, as well as to maintain and improve basic infrastructure in rural areas and new villages,” he said.
Lau said the state government should now shift its focus to assist the bottom 10% to 20% of poor people as they were the most vulnerable group.
“Instead of just providing one-off solutions, the allocation we spend should bring long-term positive impacts on lives,” he said, adding that the state government should also look into the education sector.
“Currently, we are not providing any scholarships and our study loans are not as attractive as those provided by the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN),” he said.
Pakatan, which has been championing minimum wage, will want to be seen walking the talk and is expected to introduce a minimum wage of RM1,500 for staff of Selangor state government-linked companies.
The lower middle income group (those earning between RM2,500 and RM5,000) is often overlooked by policy makers although they form the bulk of the voting populace. They may get access to affordable housing.
Word is out that the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) will build 11,000 units of homes measuring between 850 and 1,000 sq ft to be sold at RM100,000 each.
Wong alleged that the Mentri Besar was promoting PKNS projects at the expense of private developers.
“Private development is very expensive now due to high land conversion premium.
“The premium is now based on the new value of the converted land, rather than the initial value of land as previously practised by the Barisan government,” he said.
Other projects that are expected to be announced in the budget are the RM3mil closed-circuit television programme, the Petaling Jaya City Council local government elections, RM5mil for development of new villages and RM4mil for development of traditional villages.
Each state constituency may get RM1mil each to upgrade roads, bridges and drains.
“For Subang Jaya, I would like to see more funds allocated for infrastructure development, such as more pedestrian bridges, resurfacing of roads, improvement of recreational facilities at parks and improving general health care, namely the eradication of dengue, rats and cockroaches,” Yeoh said.
Wong and Yeoh, and many of their fellow assemblymen are seeking funds for physical development.
It will be interesting to see how the Selangor government balances it with welfare and operating expenditure.
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