They said the proposals were made “in the spirit of good faith” at a consultative meeting with Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz today.
The opposition alliance said it viewed the federal budget “as the paramount parliamentary duty of all MPs, not only to ensure that the civil service has full resources to effectively combat Covid-19 but also as an opportunity to safeguard democracy and move Malaysia towards a more sustainable and equitable economy”.
In a statement issued after the meeting, leaders of PKR, DAP and Amanah said the 2021 Unity Budget must focus on meeting the needs of ordinary Malaysians, creating and preserving jobs, ensuring the survivability of corporations and protecting their economic livelihood.
“In essence, we urged the government to pursue an expansionary fiscal policy with the main objective of easing the cash flow challenges of the people and corporations,” the statement said.
The six recommendations made at the meeting were for increased government spending on:
- Public health
Greater resources for the health ministry to combat Covid-19 and non-communicable diseases; better compensation for frontliners; contract officers to be absorbed in permanent posts; more temporary healthcare workers; special allocation for Sabah to tackle the Covid-19 crisis.
- Social welfare
Expanded social protection and welfare payments; increase the monthly welfare aid to RM1,000 until the end of the Covid-19 crisis; more funds to tackle domestic abuse, mental health; mistreatment of the elderly; and poor child nutrition.
- Employment
Extend the current moratorium on loan repayments until March 31, and continue wage subsidies until that day; 600,000 jobs under the Malaysia@Work scheme with incentives over 2 years for employers and employees; create green jobs and green infrastructure; increase the number of local workers in sectors which are doing well.
- Education
Higher spending on education; improve resources for online classes and learning from home; greater number of support teachers and more classrooms to be provided in schools.
- Infrastructure
Development expenditure on the National Fiberisation Connectivity Plan and upgrading water infrastructure for Selangor, Kelantan and Pahang.
The PH leaders said the proposals were submitted in good faith. They said “it is imperative that the government and opposition come together to craft a Unity Budget that works for the people to overcome and survive the current Covid-19 recession”.