In his 2008 Budget speech in Parliament last Friday, Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced an appropriation of RM176.9 billion comprising RM128.8 billion for Operating Expenditure and RM48.1 billion for Development Expenditure.
This was backed up by the Ministry of Finance Statement of the 2008 Federal Expenditure Estimates tabled in the House during […]

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The economic contribution from natural resources, especially in oil and gas is expected to decline over the next 20 years as our reserves runs dry. As revenue from oil and gas constitutes more than 40% of the overall Government budget, there is a serious challenge in sourcing alternative sources of revenue to sustain Government […]

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I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also the Finance Minister, to respond to urgent issues raised in the first three days of the 2008 Budget and not to delay for some two months until early November — particularly on pressing public interest issues like the RM4.6 billion Port […]

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Malaysia is a country blessed with abundant natural resources. In particular, we are thankful that the country is rich in oil and gas, which created Malaysia’s sole representative in the Fortune 500, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas).
In the most recent financial year ending March 2007, Petronas achieved record profits before tax of RM76.3 […]

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Globalisation brings both new threats and opportunities for the Malaysian economy. Should we rest on our laurels and continue to believe that we can be sheltered by the proverbial coconut shell, it will only result in irreparable damage to the economy. However, if we were to instil in our economy the spirit of […]

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The budget offers the rosy view that the Malaysian economy will continue to be resilient, with a projected growth of between six and 6.5 percent in 2008.
The economic prospects need to be placed in perspective. First and foremost, the external economic environment has sharply deteriorated and the international agencies and governments of the […]

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