“If the government was more transparent, for example, by publishing a list of what the Budget has been spent on every year, the rakyat can then question how such funds were spent and if the people had indeed benefited from it,” IDEAS chief executive officer Tricia Yeoh said in a webinar.
“Ultimately, transparency allows people to ask ‘if the government says they have spent a certain amount on something, why haven’t we enjoyed the benefits?’.
“That is how transparency can create a rakyat that is more aware of current issues, and in turn, a government that is more responsive and aware of the needs of the rakyat. This is all part of good governance,” she added.
Yeoh was speaking at a webinar titled “The Concept of Democracy and Building Bangsa Malaysia: Challenges, Obstacles and the Future”, which was organised by Institut Darul Ehsan, a research body under the Selangor state government.
She said that IDEAS carried out research twice a year on government spending, its processes and documentation, and had recently started training organisations on improving their knowledge about budgets, especially at the state level.
The finance ministry recently released its first-ever pre-budget statement (PBS), which provided an update on the progress of the 2021 Budget implementation, stimulus packages, revenue collection and expenditure, as well as growth forecast and priorities for the 2022 Budget.
Calling it a “welcome development” in a previous statement, IDEAS said the PBS could be improved by providing more information on the 2022 Budget as well as projections of revenue, expenditure and debt levels for the next two to three years.
Yeoh said this would also bring Malaysia up to the “international standard” of budget transparency.
Budget 2022 is set to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 29.
Healthier bipartisanship
Separately, Yeoh said IDEAS welcomed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the federal government and Pakatan Harapan (PH) yesterday, saying it should mark the beginning of healthier bipartisanship in Malaysian politics and a more mature policy-oriented parliamentary democracy.
“Ultimately, Malaysians must be allowed to choose their government, but until it is safe and timely for a general election to be held, the government and opposition must be able to set aside their differences and focus on getting Malaysia back on track,” she said in a statement.
Yeoh said the MoU came after over a year of political uncertainty which had greatly eroded the people’s confidence in national institutions.
“This MoU is a positive first step towards a policy-driven competition between political parties,” she added.
She was also hopeful that the principles committed to by both the government and PH would translate into action.
“There is no better time than now to push for meaningful institutional reforms.”
Among other things, the MoU is intended to strengthen the plan to combat Covid-19, implement parliamentary reforms, and look into the transformation of the government.
A steering committee for the MoU will be formed to ensure the commitments are adhered to.
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