The Malaysian Insight

THE massive disparity in funding for Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera communities in Budget 2022 is unfair, economist Muhammed Abdul Khalid said.

He highlighted that the RM345 million earmarked for the Chinese and Indian communities combined is merely around 3% of the RM11.4 billion allocation for the Bumiputera community.

“As a Muslim, what is important to me is the concept of fairness: where is it?” Muhammed said.

“It’s true there are many rich Chinese, but there are also many who are poor. Are we being fair?”

The economic adviser to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was speaking on the Bajet 2022: Mampukah Rawat Ekonomi Melayu talk show, organised by Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia yesterday.

Muhammed added that, including Budget 2022, the Bumiputera community had received RM30 billion from the past three budgets.

“Yet, what is the outcome? We do not know. Which Bumiputeras have been helped?” he said.

Before Muhammad, many, social media users and experts alike, had voiced their frustrations on the “racially configured budget”.

They criticised the perks for Malay-Muslims, some calling it an election budget. They also said it conflicted with the prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Keluarga Malaysia concept.

Bumiputeras also received RM6.6 billion for their education programmes, RM4.8 billion for capacity-building in the community, and RM100 million in matching grants for their SMEs in the aerospace industry.

Whereas, Chinese new villages have RM290 million to improve infrastructure and the Indian community have RM145 million for socio-cultural-economic programmes under the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit.

Even the Orang Asli communities are also only set aside RM274 million to cover subsidies and social welfare assistance to benefit almost 200,000 Orang Asli.

“How is it that this Keluarga Malaysia budget has allocated billions to Malays and Bumiputera but just millions to the Chinese and Indians?” Subang MP Wong Chen said during the Budget 2022 debate in the Dewan Rakyat.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng highlighted that non-Malays and non-Muslims were allocated less than 0.1% of the RM332 billion budget, despite comprising more than 30% of the population.

Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim tweeted right after the tabling of the Budget 2022: “Nice to be Bumiputeras too; billions set aside. Must be the only country in the world where Budget is race specific.” – November 5, 2021.