The 2008 Budget, while helpful to the rural poor and civil servants, was silent on a variety of other issues, including economic competitiveness and workers rights.
MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Muhamud, Monitoring Sustainability of Globalisation director Charles Santiago and academician Khoo Kay Peng felt there was little initiative to improve Malaysia's competitiveness.
"I don't see the Budget is doing enough for the private sector," said Khoo in a panel discussion organised by malaysiakini today. Also on the panel were Syed Shahir and Santiago.
Santiago said there was a lack of commitment to "empower" the private sector, referring to a statement by the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) that the Chinese economic equity is not likely to increase.
Nothing much for workers
"The Budget has not focused on building competitiveness. There is lack of support for the small and medium businesses," said Santiago.
"A substantial number of workers are not going to benefit from this budget. It focuses more on the corporate sector and civil servants. What about the rest of the people?" said Syed Shahir.
"From the workers' point of view, there is nothing much. We expect some announcement on minimum wage or Cola (cost of living allowance)," he added.
Santiago concluded that the government did not address the issue of good governance, citing recent scandals such as the Transmile accounting fraud and the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco.
The 2008 Budget will allow withdrawals from the Employees Providence Fund (EPF) for house purchases, allowing a total of RM9.6 billion annually from the fund.
Santiago said the option to withdraw from Account II of the EPF indicated a decrease in earning wages.
"The government should have set up a fund for people to buy houses. This is not a smart thing," he said.
"If you tap into the EPF, you might not have enough savings to carry on after you retire. This will create a new pattern of poverty, of those in their late 50s onwards," he added.
Khoo said the country is not ready for GST to be implemented. He said the nation's low number of ratepayers, which account for nine percent of the 11 million workforce, makes GST unviable.
"It works in developed nations. You pay as you consume. It works only of a large proportion of the workers are ratepayers," he said.
Lack of qualified educators
Syed Shahir, a former teacher, said the abolishment of school fees, textbook and uniform expenses "should have been done 20 years ago", adding that parents use annual bonuses to cover the costs.
Santiago said the reduction in school costs "does not solve the education problem."
He said there is a need to revitalise the teaching profession and halt the flow of talented workforce overseas.
Concurring with this, Khoo said there is a lack of qualified educators.
"There is an over investment in quantity. (There is focus on creating) more institutions, not creating more graduates," he said.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was not tabled in the budget, is likely to be tabled after the coming general election, said Syed Shahir.
"Not now. It is an election budget. They might suspend implementing the GST. But when they get the majority (from the coming general election), they would put it through in 2009," said Syed Shahir.
There is fear that when implemented, the GST will fuel another round of inflation after the oil price hike in recent years.
Watch the first of a three-part video here. Duration: 6 mins
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