THERE is nothing substantial in Budget 2023 that can give Barisan Nasional (BN) an added advantage over other political parties should the general election be held soon, political analysts said.

They told The Malaysian Insight that the budget is not so different from the previous one announced by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz last year.

Observers stressed that the people are no longer excited with the budget presentation as many are tired of the current political uncertainties.

Last Friday, Tengku Zafrul tabled one of the biggest budgets in the history of Malaysia, allocating RM372.3 billion, in the Dewan Rakyat. This was a 12% increase from the previous year when RM332 billion was allocated.

The three top recipients for Budget 2023 are the Finance Ministry (RM67.2 billion), Education Ministry (RM55.6 billion) and Health Ministry (RM36.1 billion), constituting 43.3% of total expenditure.

A sum of RM272.3 billion has been allocated for the government’s operational expenditure, up 16.6% from RM233.5 billion in Budget 2022.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Dr Mazlan Ali said giving out cash aid and increasing some amount for the people can only have a small impact on BN.

“The initiatives are not so different from the last budget. It touches on the B40 group but nothing solid was given,” he said.

“Unless the government says it will increase the minimum wage from RM1,500 to, say, RM1,800, then surely that will cause so much attention and the people will definitely vote for BN.

“However, we understand the financial burden the country is facing. Therefore, the budget won’t have a big impact on voters.

“Cash aid is given every year and these days, it is a normal to do so.

“As for the B40, not all in this group support BN.”

For Ilham Centre executive director Hisomuddin Bakar, the excitement over Budget 2023 was not as hype up as it was when BN was in power prior to 2018.

He said the people are now sceptical about the government’s ability to deliver following a series of political turmoil.

“During BN’s time before 2018, whatever was announced would be an advantage to the coalition. It will receive good feedback but this time, the joy is no longer there,” he said.

“Based on our research, the people are sceptical. They don’t see a government or a coalition that can deliver.

“This budget, for example – is it a BN budget or a BN-PN budget and who will carry out the budget proposals after this?

“Can this budget have an impact on BN? I don’t see that much.”

Under the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia scheme, the government is handing out RM2,500, the highest ever, to households with five children or more with a monthly income of less than the same amount. A sum of RM7.8 billion has been allocated to the fund to benefit 8.7 million recipients.

Budget 2023 as campaign material

For Universiti Malaya’s Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi, Budget 2023 will still be used by BN for its election campaign.

However, he said whether it will be accepted by the voters is another matter.

“This is the biggest budget in Malaysia’s history and, of course, BN will use it as a campaign tool to win the election. But we have all kinds of people in this country. Those who are not critical towards the government will say BN did a good job,” he said.

“Others who did not benefit such as the Sabah and Sarawak people will be unhappy.”

Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs mirrored Awang Azman’s views but forecast BN can still win the election.

He said Umno is pushing for snap polls this year as experts are predicting a challenging year for the economy next year.

“Budget always provides the incumbent government with an electoral advantage, but whether that is enough to retain power is another question,” he said.

“Everybody gets a thin slice of the pie, but I wonder where the ingredients of the pie (source of funds) ultimately will come from.

“For my reason as to why BN could win, Malays may or may not like BN, but they surely do not prefer Pakatan Harapan. I see BN can almost win by default.”

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is under pressure from his party leadership to call the election as soon as possible but the opposition parties are against the idea of holding polls during the monsoon. – October 10, 2022.