KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The federal government's Budget 2016 will benefit the people as much as it is good for the current Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, a PAS lawmaker acknowledged today.
Pasir Mas MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz said all budgets are structured to take care of the ruling party's interests, but insisted that next year's budget will also cover the needs of Malaysians in general.
“I agree that this budget is to take care of Najib, but it also takes care of the people of Malaysia,” he said when met outside Parliament.
“There are some aspects that are not good, so we criticise the budget. Our members including our president have given our views, and I am confident that our views are accepted by the people of Malaysia,” Nik Abduh added.
Chief among PAS' grouses is the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which Nik Abduh claimed is a burden on the people and goes against the tenets of Islam.
He said Putrajaya can implement various other tax regimes that only take money from those who can afford to pay while staying in line with Islamic principles.
Despite the Islamist party's opposition to some parts of Budget 2016, Nik Abduh repeated party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's position that they will abstain from voting on the budget.
“We criticise some big issues in the budget, and also support some new items brought by the government,” he said.
