KUALA LUMPUR: More time is needed for the unity government’s policies to be felt by ordinary Malaysians as funds and programmes under Budget 2023 are still being rolled out, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said this following a survey which showed that people were dissatisfied with how Putrajaya managed the economy, especially when it came to reducing inflation.
The administration, said Ahmad Zahid, had only been in office for seven months while the funds and programmes that had been allocated in Budget 2023 were still being rolled out.
“Opportunity must be given for this government to implement its policies.
“It is not fair to assess the performance of this seven-month government as we know that the impact of funds that have been budgeted will only be felt after they are fully implemented,” he told reporters at the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka here yesterday.
A survey by market research firm Endeavour-MGC that was released on May 30 revealed that 52% of Malay people and 46% of all respondents were dissatisfied with the government’s efforts at tackling inflation and cost-of-living issues.
The study of 1,068 respondents nationwide also found that 57% of the Malays surveyed were satisfied with the unity government’s Budget 2023, as compared to an overall satisfaction rate of 48%.
About 59% of Malay respondents and 56% of all those surveyed also said they had personally benefited from Budget 2023.
The study was conducted between April 4 and 18, and used a random stratified sample with Malays comprising 62.2%, Chinese (28.7%), Indians (8.2%) and others (0.9%).
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister, said Putrajaya was committed to ensuring that it effectively spent every ringgit and that no monies were wasted through corruption and leakages.
“We need good and effective management that is free of corruption, leakages and abuse of power so that the people’s money is effectively distributed.
“We will not compromise in this,” he said.
He also said that only someone lacking in knowledge or “daif ilmu” would continue to say that Penang belonged to Kedah, adding that a person “not ignorant of history” would know that Malaysia’s current form was based on agreements in the past and the findings of the Cobbold Commission.
“It is not just the Federal Constitution and the nation’s laws that have to be looked at but also agreements crafted by the British colonial authority of the past,” he said.
Although Malaysians gained independence from Britain, these agreements were used first to form the Federation of Malaya, said Ahmad Zahid.
“This has to be understood, only those who are not ignorant of history will not bring this issue up,” he said.
On Monday, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said that Kedah and Penang do not have a border because Penang still belongs to Kedah, claiming further that Kedah only shares a border with Perak and Perlis.
