Subsidy cuts fuel Pakatan’s 13th GE offence

GOMBAK: Subsidy cuts on basic goods has become Pakatan Rakyat’s main campaign fodder to shore up support in the run-up to the 13th general election (GE).

Leaders from all three Pakatan component parties, led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, harped on the subject at a ceramah characterised by a typical Barisan Nasional (BN) bashing session here last night.

The assault on the federal government’s “subsidy rationalisation” programme, an apparent populist approach, is timely amid heated speculation that early polls may be held in mid-year.

The Najib administration claimed the cuts are necessary to balance the soaring budget deficit, but Anwar argued that the move’s aim was merely to replenish drying state coffers caused by widespread graft and poor governance.

Calling the present government “ignorant and arrogant”, the Permatang Pauh MP fired up the 600 who attended last night’s ceramah by accusing Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak of nepotism, claiming the cuts had transferred the nation’s high deficit burden to voters while helping crony companies maintain their hefty profits.

“The subsidies for the people is only RM11 billion but the subsidies for the four main independent power producers (IPPs) is RM19 billion,” Anwar said, adding that the four IPPs are well-connected to the Najib government.

Welfare is possible

The former deputy prime minister said the Pakatan-controlled Selangor and Penang governments have showed that it’s possible to avoid “cut-throat” policies if state resources are managed with transparency and accountability.

“When Penang was under BN, the state deficit was RM2 billion. Under the leadership of (DAP) Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, it now has a surplass of RM2 billion,” claimed Anwar, who is also the former finance minister.

Detractors have in the past claimed that Penang under the DAP government will run low on cash if it continues with its welfare policies like cash handouts for the poor and the old but on the contrary, Lim’s government was praised for its clean financial management by the auditor-general.

The same was said about PKR-controlled Selangor. Under the leadership of PKR’s Khalid Ibrahim, a former corporate marvel, the nation’s richest state also boasted a surplass account sheet along with increased investments.

DAP national publicist chief Tony Pua and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, who were also at the ceramah, said Pakatan aims to expand its “people-friendly” policies at a national level if they are voted in.

Pua said this “earnest” effort to introduce good governance is reflected in Pakatan’s 100-day reform pledges.

RM500 for civil servants

The pledges, considered Pakatan’s election manifesto and unveiled at the bloc’s second national convention last month, among others, acknowledge the role and sacrifices of civil servants by studying the current pay schemes and increasing the incentives for teachers by RM500 a month.

“It’s possible. We have shown that we can do it,” said both Pua and Azmin in their speeches.

Najib, however, rebuked the proposal, blasting the reform pledges as “irresponsible” and a populist measure aimed at merely raking in the votes but will bankrupt the nation if implemented.

Anwar disputed this. He claimed that a Pakatan federal government could afford to pay for a proposed allowance for teachers – projected to be RM3.2 billion annually – by eliminating the “wastages” of the BN administration.

“What is RM3 billion compared to the hundreds of billions spent on the federal government expenditures,” he said to thunderous applause.