FRIDAY, Oct 13 was Budget 2024, a much talked-about and anticipated day for all Malaysians.
Local television channels began building up the hype up to the delivery of the budget speech by Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by hosting a panel of experts on economics, with plenty to say and speculate as the time drew near.
However to the man on the street, all this expert talk does not mean a thing.
What concerns them is the constant fear of whether all the money pumped into the various sectors will be utilised well and with integrity.
With the past history of the country’s wealth being plundered constantly by unscrupulous individuals and the daunting thought of our beloved country facing the same fate as Greece and Sri Lanka, all the hype of the budget does not mean much to them.
Their thoughts focus more on basic bread-and-butter issues, with the fervent hope that Anwar will come up with some comforting news to alleviate their predicament.
Their thoughts are also more inclined to whether the allocations will go into the proper hands so that the funds will be put to good use for the betterment of all Malaysians.
We Malaysians do not want the funds to be looted and the usual outrageous cost of contracts to be released in the Attorney-General’s report.
Or worse still, there is the usual hype about it for a while and the matter is put to rest without much fanfare.
Thiagarajan Mathiaparanam
Klang
