Budget 2021: Three key focus of people's concerns need to be amended - O2 Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is advised to amend the Supply (Budget) Bill 2021 to ensure a more comprehensive delivery that can be enjoyed by the people.

O2 Malaysia Research Analyst, Anis Anwar Suhaimi said it covers three basic things, namely the chain of offers and services, employment opportunities as well as educational and rural development.

On the chain of offers and services, Anis Anwar said the Prihatin Rakyat Aid (BPR) and wage subsidy initiatives needed to be increased compared to the previous allocation.

"This subsidy is not enough to cover the operations of companies that have suffered losses or huge revenue reductions of up to 30 to 40 per cent.

"I think the government needs to increase the wage subsidy maybe up to 70 per cent so that companies can operate as usual or return to normal as before the COVID-19 pandemic," he told Astro AWANI.

It will make the productivity of the individual and the enterprise not only restored, but also enhanced.

Commenting on creating job opportunities, Anis Anwar said the government should focus on other sectors and not just the industrial, manufacturing and services sectors.

"The government needs to focus (on increasing employment opportunities) involving other sectors as well because if we observe, the number of jobs created is only two to three per cent for example in the agricultural sector.

"So, we need to add (allocations) in sectors that have been given less emphasis before. The government also needs to explore new areas, especially in the field of clean energy supply," he explained.

Regarding the development of education and rural areas, Anis Anwar also hoped that the government would improve the national school facilities so that it is of international standard.

"I think rural development and education needs to have a far-reaching vision.

"For example, the development of education where the government needs to think about providing international class facilities and the policy of one teacher per 20 students.

"This will ensure that parents have high confidence in national schools and they can send their children back to national schools as opposed to private schools or international schools," he said.

Therefore, he hoped that the government would take the views of various parties in ensuring that a holistic budget can be implemented and enjoyed by all levels of society.