Thursday, October 27, 2016

A Moronic Budget?

Which finance minister cum pm would be proud to table a budget where more than 80% is meant to meet operating expenditures and less than 20% for development expenditure?

No wonder Bolehland is stuck in the low income bracket rut.

The man whom some would could call 'MO1' ('Malaysian Official Number One' - 'Malaysian Moron Number One' to the less kindly disposed) must be hallucinating when he declared that Bolehland is a middle high income society because in the next breath he also announced that the government would be increasing the band aid to 1200 ringgit.

Bolehlanders are wondering how the government is going to raise the money to even meet operating expenditures let alone the development expenditure.

Oil revenue has more than halved. Less people are now paying income tax (it is estimated that only about 20% of the working population are paying income tax- which fact is not indicative of a middle high income society' is it?) Businesses are not doing as well as pre-GST, with quite a few being forced to close because of declining demand and the hassles of managing the GST.

The only thing that is saving the day, so to speak, for the largely clueless and incompetent? administration is the revenue from the hugely unpopular Goods and Service Tax (GST).

The GST is touted as an equitable tax but in a low income society it is just indecent. The only people who are going to feel anything equitable about it are the rich, for they won't be feeling the pinch anyway, while the poor majority are further impoverished.

The only way out is for Bolehland to borrow more. But with the stink of the 1MDB scandal still hanging upon us, with no resolution nor accounting in sight as to the the billions said to have been so nonchalantly stolen from the sovereign fund by kleptocrats at large, the cost of borrowing would be another added burden.

The only way out therefore is to dip into the people's pension funds? That prospect would just about kill any lingering confidence poor Bolehlanders have left in the Ah Jib administration and may be the last nail in the Barang Naik government.

And maybe that last might just be what Bolehland really needs.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Kluang's Little Bangsar

Kluang's Little Bangsar
Click To Visit

Kamini's Indian Wedding - Click To Visit

Kamini's Indian Wedding - Click To Visit
I attended my neighbour's daughter's Indian wedding dinner at the Sentul HGH Convention Centre. Click for a peek

Yasmin Ahmad - Click To Visit

Yasmin Ahmad - Click To Visit
Yasmin Ahmad was arguably Malaysia's best story-teller, filmmaker and advertiser. She was well known for her Petronas commercials and had won numerous international awards including the Golden Lion award for the 'Tan Ming Hong In Love' commercial. Her feature film Sepet not only garnered her several international awards including for Best Asian Film but also drew multi-racial audiences that rarely happens for a local film.

Genting Highlands - Click To Visit

Genting Highlands - Click To Visit
Genting Highlands Is A Popular Retreat With A Casino

Batu Caves - Click To Visit

Batu Caves - Click To Visit
Malaysia's Famous Landmark. Note The Statue Of Lord Muruga And The 272 Steps To The Temple Cave In The Background

Petronas Twin Towers And KLCC Park - Click To Visit

Petronas Twin Towers And KLCC Park - Click To Visit
Petronas Twin Towers Are Still The World's Tallest Twin Towers

Some Early Morning Views Of KL City Skyline - Click To Visit

Some Early Morning Views Of KL City Skyline - Click To Visit
Some early morning views of the KL city sykline I took from the 3rd floor of the KL Court with a low-pixel hand-phone camera

Kluang Town - Click To Visit

Kluang Town - Click To Visit
Kluang was a sleepy hollow, but is fast becoming a bustling town. You can't miss the bust-shaped gunung Lambak lording over the place and the town is well known for its tv brand coffee powder

Kluang RailCoffee

Kluang RailCoffee
The Kluang railway station coffee shop, now re-branded Kluang RailCoffee, is well known for its cuppa of coffee and the charcaol grilled piping hot buns oozing with butter and kaya...It used to attract standing-room only crowds. It still does, but the last time I was there it wasn't a good experience for me. The famous coffee had somewhat lost its oomph and even the buns...The shop has a long and noted history being first opened for business in 1938 and the place is now run by the 3rd generation LIm family. I hope the next time I return, the coffee would regain its oomph. Click to read more...