2021 Budget needs to be more realistic - Tun M

The Langkawi MP admitted that he was afraid because the budget this time was the biggest in history but the government could not afford it due to the current economic situation.

He claimed that the government would have a spending deficit of RM85 billion.

This is because the government is expected to collect revenue of RM236.9 billion next year but will have to spend RM322.5 billion to finance the budget.

"My question is where the money (to finance the Budget) will come from.

"The deficit is said to be around RM85 billion, greater than the total development expenditure of RM69 billion," he said.

As a result, Dr Mahathir said, the government had to borrow money to finance the budget, which would increase the country's debt to about RM1.3 trillion.

He said this in a recent post on his personal blog (chedet.cc) on Monday.

However, Dr Mahathir did not explain how he obtained the debt projections.

"All industries (other than the rubber glove industry) are badly affected. I think corporate tax collection will not be even two-thirds of the previous collection," he said.

In the meantime, he added, the economic performance projections in the budget this time were also too optimistic.

If any COVID-19 vaccine is discovered next year, the country's economy will not fully recover in the same year, he added.

"We can still cut operating and development costs. Over the last 15 years, wage rates have risen rapidly - up to a 25 per cent increase. Ministers and MPs are given many allowances.

"The increase is so high that everyone is interested in becoming a Member of Parliament and minister," he said.

Therefore, Dr Mahathir said the government should try to reduce costs and shrink the budget this time.

This includes cutting 30 per cent of ministers' salaries, and 10 per cent of the salaries of civil servants earning more than RM20,000 a month.