Opposition targets Najib in Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 - The Opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will now turn their attention towards Datuk Seri Najib Razak by insisting on a review of the 2009 Budget in Parliament tomorrow.

Since taking over as Finance Minister from outgoing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, Najib is now facing the prospect of guiding the Malaysian economy in the middle of a global financial storm.

"One of the first things would be a review of the budget proposal and its figures. We need to do that as an urgent matter unfortunately this does not seem to be the direction and policy of the current government and finance minister," Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said of his plans for tomorrow.

"We cannot work on obsolete figures that are not realistic and does not reflect on economic fundamentals," he continued.

Speaking at his Hari Raya open house at Sultan Sulaiman Club, Kg Baru today, he said that most other countries have already reviewed their budgets, including Singapore, which recently went into recession.

"The finance minister continues to deny the existence of an economic crisis here. If the leadership is not sensitive, it will be the beginnings of a disaster," he insisted.

Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader, was also present and echoed Anwar's sentiment, saying that a revision of the budget would be "Najib's first test as finance minister."

"What is the strategy to ensure Malaysia is protected? He must come up with a revised budget tomorrow. If he doesn't then he would have failed his first test as finance minister in Parliament," he declared.

"So many things have changed since the budget was presented on Oct 29, even the minister has changed. These three weeks he has not said anything to inspire confidence to overcome the looming economic crisis," he said of Najib's tenure so far.

On Friday, DAP publicity chief Tony Pua had released a statement that the government would fail to meet its budget deficit target of 3.6% due to the global financial meltdown and the drop in the price of oil.

The proposed budget based 46.4% of the government's total revenue on the assumption that Malaysia's Tapis crude oil blend will average US$125 per barrel for 2009 but prices has since fallen with the local blend now below US$100.

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim also added that Najib had to give a "convincing explanation" if he did not want to revise the budget.

"He must make sure that spending is reduced and lavishness is done away with," said the chief of the PKR-led state government.

-TMI