Datuk Seri Najib's Budget Gaffe

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib made his Budget 2012 disclosure on Friday October 7, 2011. I thought he was doing a good job, offering the business concerns and the public this and that until when nearly at the end of his speech, he, in the humorous style of his, almost like tongue in cheek, mentioned that the members of the parliament will even have their allowances raised if both the ruling Barisan Nasional Party and the Opposition parties agreed. The members of the ruling party laughed. This is money freely given. Surely the opposition party members will agree along! Others, too, laughed together. Even I could not help smiling. It is all about money, then.

But I had my reservation. This will be a fodder for the opposition party to use it in this time of approaching election  to tell the Malaysians that they have the economic well being of the people at heart foremost, and that they are foregoing the increase in their allowance so that the money can be used for the people’s urgent needs.

That is exactly what happened. Next day I saw in an English Daily that opposition party members Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Azmin Ali opposed the plan saying that the time was not right and focus should be on the people and the rising cost of living and not on the allowances.

Poor PM. He should be regretting he said it. Knowing the opposition, they would be harping on this matter during their election speeches.