KUCHING, Oct 8: Malaysia will be bogged down by debt servicing as the federal government spends RM46.1 million to service debt and interest under Budget 2023, says Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
He noted that the government budget’s deficit for the years 2021 and 2022 was close to RM100 billion each, and he believed that Budget 2023 is projected to record another RM100 billion.
“Deficit can only be financed with government debt. The government debt as of Dec 31, 2021, was RM979 billion.
“By the end of 2022, it will be more than RM1 trillion,” he said in a statement today.
Chong, who is Stampin MP, was further concerned that in Budget 2023, out of the RM369.34 billion total expenditure, RM46.1 billion will be used to service debt and interest.
“That is almost half the total development expenditure of RM97 billion for 2023. At the rate this is going, the country will be bogged down with debt servicing,” he added.
Chong explained that a massive increase in Budget 2023 is necessary to boost economic recovery, but if the development expenditure was to focus on a few mega projects, he said that “will not help the ordinary men on the street, but just benefitting the cronies.”
He also described Budget 2023 as ‘irresponsible’ because it has a massive increase in spending but no mention of how to increase the government revenue.
Additionally, he said there is no indication that the government will cut wastage and leakages.
“One clear example is the allocation of RM430 million to build five schools, namely three secondary schools and two primary schools, in 2023. That is RM80 million per school. That is an astronomical sum for any school.
“By any standard, RM10 million to RM20 million per school is more than enough, yet, the government allocates RM80 million per school. There is absolutely no justification for the amount,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
