James Kon & Rokiah Mahmud
Legislative Council (LegCo) members shared their views on the proposed budget for the financial year 2023-2024 during yesterday’s 19th LegCo session:
TIGHTEN GOVERNMENT SPENDING
LegCo member Yang Berhormat Abdul Aziz bin Haji Hamdan said while the budget reflects a focus of developing an inclusive and sustainable economy, the government should also prioritise cost-saving measures and tighten spending.
“All expenditures must be closely monitored to avoid high and persistent deficits,” he said.
Meanwhile, LegCo member Yang Berhormat Haji Sulaiman bin Haji Nasir said as part of the effort to stabilise the country’s expenditure, steps to postpone or delaying any “mega projects“ requiring huge amount of funds can be challenging.
“However, employment opportunities can be created through the distribution of small projects throughout the country, either in urban or rural areas,” he said.
The LegCo member added that privatising several government projects and activities such as infrastructure repair and maintenance, can reduce government spending while indirectly stimulating business activities of local companies, creating job opportunities.
KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
LegCo member Yang Berhormat Mohammad bin Abdullah @ Lim Swee Ann said the proposed budget is in line with the initiatives to create stability in the nation’s economy and improve the well-being of the people and residents of the country.
“This budget also targets efforts towards building a knowledge-based economy. This can be implemented successfully by paying close attention to efforts aimed at increasing productivity, creativity and innovation as well as focussing on areas or sectors that have stronger competitiveness.”
He added, “Support from all parties is crucial for the budget to achieve its targets. The private sector and non-governmental organisations also have a role to play in implementing several related programmes.”
The LegCo member also noted that to support the theme of inclusiveness and resilient recovery outlined in the budget, focus on upgrading existing commercial areas is important.
“Therefore I hope that transformation and development plans for the commercial zones in Kuala Belait and Seria would be created to make sure business environment in the areas can be beneficial to micro, small and medium enterprises and their business activities.”
Meanwhile, LegCo member Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Suyoi bin Haji Osman commented on the budget allocation to the Ministry of Education, stating, “It is appropriate to provide for new programmes to improve the skills of students and school leavers, but also improve the quality of schools and higher education institutions, while increasing the number of teachers in the workforce.
“The allocation given to CfBT amounting to BND44.7 million is expected to make a huge impact in the level of student achievement across the country.
“This can ensure that education in this country is of high quality and able to produce students of high calibre who can lead the future of the country.”
He added that, “as we expect teachers to improve their efficiency and skills as well as to make continuous adjustments due to a changing environment, their services and welfare will also need to be given attention to”.
The LegCo member expressed his delight in a “lion share” of allocation presented for the Ministry of Health.
He hoped that the ministry will be able to improve the quality of healthcare services in this country, which will need adequate health personnel, including specialists, doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.
