Budget 2023 ticks several items on rakyat's wish list, says Dr Wee

KUALA LUMPUR: Budget 2023 fulfils several items on the rakyat's wish list, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

"The Budget 2023 with an allocation of RM388.1bil, of which RM289.1bil is operating expenditure, RM99bil for development expenditure, including RM2bil in contingency savings, has covered a wide spectrum of our communities and fields.

"Some of these items have been on the people’s wish list," the Ayer Hitam MP said in a Facebook post on Thursday (Feb 24).

Dr Wee, who was present during the unveiling of the budget by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, noted that a progressive approach was taken to protect the less fortunate through targeted subsidies and tax structures.

Among the other fulfilled requests from the rakyat was the implementation of the upgrading project for the North-South Expressway from Yong Peng Utara to Senai Utara - Phase 1 in Johor by expanding the lanes from four to six in stages with a cost of RM525mil.

He also addressed revamping the agro-food sector by prioritising the survival of local food production through automation and digitisation.

He thanked Anwar for presenting a budget in line with the “Developing Malaysia Madani" theme.

"There may be a few things that can be improved but I will go into the details and share my views during the debate later," the MCA president added in his post.

The Dewan Rakyat resumes on Monday (Feb 27) with five weeks set aside for debates before Budget 2023 is put to the House for approval.