Commenting on Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that the recently tabled 2016 Budget needed to be revised, the PAS Member of Parliament for Pokok Sena argued that if the government studied the oil price trend over the past two years, a revision would not have been necessary.
“Malaysia has more Cabinet members than other developed countries with larger populations. Yet, despite the fact that it is only the middle of January 2016, the Budget now needs to be revised.
“Why was the government relying on USD 48 per barrel when the whole world was witnessing a steady drop in the oil price?” Mahfuz asked in a statement.
He pointed to the fact that a revision to the 2015 budget had to also be made.
Earlier this week, Najib announced the revision, citing the ongoing drop in oil prices among others.
Mahfuz debunked Najib’s excuse, stating that oil prices have been on a downward trend since 2014 and this should not have come as a surprise especially since Malaysia has two Finance Ministers.
“Are our Finance Ministers getting paid for doing nothing? If the government had read the signs, there would have been no need to have the Budget revised.”
The former PAS vice-president added that the government should have crafted the budget based on a lower oil price and if the prices go up in the future, then the extra income garnered would a be bonus for the country.