Subsidies To Be Restructured, Reduced In Stages

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) -- The giving of subsidies will be restructured and reduced in stages, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin said in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

However, the target groups, like the poor, would continue to receive aid to ensure that they were not burdened, he said.

"As such, We call on the people to be far-sighted and be prepared to accept this change," he said when opening the third session of the 12th parliament here.

Currently subsidies were enjoyed not only by the target groups but also those who were not eligible, like the high-income earners and foreigners, he said, adding that the government had spent a lot on subsidies to ease the people's burden.

"In 2009 alone, RM24.5 billion was spent for this purpose."

On another matter, he said he was thankful that the country's economy was recovering from impact of the global economic downturn, with the Gross Domestic Product for the third quarter registering positive growth of 4.5 per cent, which was better than the 3 per cent projected.

This encouraging development was due, among others, to the implementation of two economic stimulus packages worth RM67 billion and the strong domestic and foreign demand.

He said the economic downturn had a silver lining because it pushed all parties to strive to fully utilise the available resources and opportunities to take the country out of the difficult situation.

He was happy that the governemnt, under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, had used it as an opportunity to transform the country towards a better future.

He said the government was very committed to ensuring that development projects were completed on schedule, were of quality and gave returns commensurate with the allocations spent.

In this respect, monitoring should constantly be enhanced to ensure that the projects spurred economic activities and brought well-being to the people.

All government agencies would continue to focus on the impact and outcome of projects instead of solely on the output, he said.

Tuanku Mizan also said that in a globalised competitive era, Malaysia needed human capital with knowledge, creativity, integrity and strong competive and entrepreneurial spirit to ensure the country's success in future.

In view of this, he welcomed the effort to extend access to pre-school education, enhance literacy and numeracy command of students and develop high-performance schools.

"We welcome the move by government linked companies to adopt certain schools to raise their performance."

He also touched on the National Permata Programme mooted by the prime minister's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, saying that following its success, the government would empower it by introducing several more programmes like Permata Pintar, Permata Seni, Permata Insan and Permata Remaja.

"These programmes will produce a new generation to propel the country to a more outstanding future," he added.

Tuanku Mizan also said that the new education policy which prioritised Bahasa Malaysia, strengthened the command of English and enhanced the use of information communication technology, would further reinforce the country's education system.

He hoped that the talent and potential of the youth would would be mobilised and wanted them to change their way of thinking and be prepared to shoulder a bigger responsibility.