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 the budget presentation (Command Paper 12 of 2007).
However, in another Ministry of Finance document, the Economic Report 2007/2008, (Command paper 2 of 2007),which was also tabled in Parliament at the same time, a completely different set of figures was provided.
Chapter 4 of the Economic Report 2007/2008 on “Public Sector Finance”, in its section on “Outlook for 2008”, states: “This Budget will allocate a total of RM168,799 million, an increase of 2.5% over 2007. Of this, RM128,799 million is for operating expenditure and the balance of RM40,000 million for development expenditure”. (p 96)
These different set of figures were backed up the Table 4.1 on “Federal Government Financial Position 2006-2008” (p 77).
How could there be such a huge difference of RM8.1 billion for the 2008 Development Estimates between Abdullah’s budget presentation and Finance Ministry Statement on the one hand and the Finance Ministry’s Economic Report 2007/2008, all presented to Parliament on the same day last Friday?
There can be no justification for such a huge difference in the two sets of figures as the Finance Ministry’s Economic Report 2007/2008 was signed off by Abdullah as Finance Minister in a preface dated 7th September 2007 (the very same day as the budget presentation).
A difference of RM8.1 billion would have sent the whole budgetary estimates awry, with the estimated budget deficit for 2008 estimated at 3.1 per cent of the GDP shooting up to 4.6 per cent — a most unfortunate reflection on the professionalism and competence of government budgetary expertise which could only undermine public confidence in the Abdullah administration.
I raised this issue in Parliament this evening (the third day of the 2008 Budget debate before adjourning for 39 days until October 22) when the Barisan Nasional MP for Muar, Razali Ibrahim was speaking but no BN MP seemed to be the least bit concerned about the “RM8.1 billion scandal of the 2008 Budget”.
On the floor of Parliament, I had called on Abdullah to give instant explanation for the RM8.1 billion difference of 2008 development estimates, as this matter cannot wait for two months until the Ministerial winding-up in the second week of November, without doing untold harm to national and international confidence in the financial professionalism, capability and responsibility of the government.