Budget 2007

My last post had shown how separuh, half-malaysian I am. Make no mistake that I still feel the same though I did waste 2 hours of my precious time yesterday watching the live tabling of Budget 2007 by the Prime Minister. Many said I waste my time doing so since I can just read about it in the newspaper the following day. I somehow went on to actually noting down the key points coming out of the kayu old man's mouth. It almost came to about 2 pieces of A4 paper. Sad to an extent but then again I'm recognisably a future-minded malaysian .. blek.

Budget 2007 happens to be the first out of the 9th Malaysian Plan. Of all the three budgets PM Abdullah has tabled, this by far is the best in my opinion as well as most malaysians out there. Not only is it rewarding for malaysians of all ages and sectors but most of it is balanced in almost all sectors of the country's economy.

Almost not one sector has been left out of it. Ranging from agriculture, biotechnology, halal industry, Islamic finance, ICT, tourism, education, women rights, socio-economic equality, poverty eradication, housing, environmental preservation, creative arts, immigration, public service delivery system up to civil servants, it without doubt is one diverse but yet balanced budget. In total the expenditure for Budget 2007 would total up to be RM 157.496 million. View diagram below (click to enlarge) . .

There were five key thrusts as founded in the National Mission :

1. To move the economy up the value chain
2. To raise the capacity for knowledge and innovetion and nurture citizens of 'first class mentality'
3. To address persistent socio-economic inequalities constructively and productively
4. To improve the standard and sustainability of quality of life
5. To strenghten the institutional and implementation capacity

As not to bore most of you all, I'll just be stating most of the key-points of the budget which I find most relevant to us and the country and elaborating later. I couldn't possibly type everything out coz it might easily reach a minimum of 30 pages.

• Corporate tax rate to be reduced by two percentage points in two stages - the tax will be reduced to 27% in 2007 and 26% in 2008.
• Inland Revenue Board to issue advance tax rulings to ensure certainty of tax treatment and transparency in tax administration.
• Biotechnology allocated almost RM 210 million.
• Income tax relief of RM 3000 for the purchase of a personal computer every 3 years.
• Income tax exemption for tour operators giving tours with at least 500 inbound tourists per year or 1200 local tourists per year extended for another five years.
• RM1 billion will be channelled to 22 new primary and secondary schools set for opening next year and for the building of 198 more schools, including fully-residential secondary schools.
• Chinese language will be taught in 150 national schools while Tamil will be taught in 70 national schools from 2007.
• Students who obtain 10 1As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or its equivalent from families with a monthly income of RM1,500 and below will be given scholarships to pursue tertiary education.
• Abolishment of fees for all public examinations in government schools.
• Tax relief on book purchases will be increased from RM700 to RM1,000 a year.
• Annual grant for non-governmental organisations undertaking women, family and community programmes has been raised to RM30mil from RM20mil.
  
• One-off launching grant given to ministries to set up childcare centres will now be expanded to include all government departments.
• RM50 government subsidy for mammograms done in private clinics and hospitals registered with the National Population and Family Development Board which is approximately half the cost of a mammogram.
• Excise duty for cigarettes will be increased by one sen per stick while liquor with more than 40% alcohol will see an increase of RM5 per litre with immediate effect.
• Police force will be given 2,000 extra patrol cars and create 3,000 new vacancies for police drivers.
• Tax deduction increased to RM500 000 from RM300 000 for sponsorship of local arts, culture and heritage performances and shows.
• Immigration units will be established at MIDA and MDeC to approve work permits and visas for expatriates.
• Two new immigration departments will be established in Cheras and Wangsa Maju.
• Spouses of expatriates with professional qualifications will be allowed to work in Malaysia.
• Multiple Entry Visas valid for one year now given to tourists from China and India extended to tourists from the Middle East.
• e-Passport Replacement Kiosks to be expanded to many more immigration branches.
• RM 10 billion invested to improve the public transportation system i.e. buses and rail system.
• Rapid KL to minimise waiting time for buses to 15 minutes by year-end.
• 2 month bonus for civil servants earning up to RM750 and 1 month bonus for those earning more than RM750, subject to a minimum of RM1500.
• One-off payment to pensioners of RM400 for those getting pension below RM750 per month and RM200 for those getting RM750 and above per month.

There you have it. A freaking long list of expenditure 07 key points which I will elaborate on.

One of the biggest allocations is for the education sector totalling up to RM33.4 billion. It is understandable since the government has to produce citizens with 'first class mentality'. More schools and universities to be built. Extra allocations here and there for teachers. The most beneficial part of this budget for the education sector is definitely the abolishment of public exam fees and the scholarships for 10A1 SPM students. It definitely helps those in the rural kampungs who have 9 or 10 children .. believe me there are. I've heard of urban city-dweller families with 7 children. Then again, I wouldn't benefit from it since I study in a private school .. crap.

I have good feeling the government's feeling the need to focus on biotechnology. There was quite a huge allocation for it focusing generally on agricluture and bio-pharmaceuticals. The government should really consider investing in food technology. Without doubt, there were certain allocations for the enviromental bio-diesel.

As usual, the excise duty for alcohol and cigarettes went up again. It goes up without fail ever since the last four budgets were tabled. I don't smoke but I do drink at times. In the first place, a 1 sen increase for one cigarette would not make much difference anyway. The huge impact would be on heavy alcohol. It may not really affect me since I doubt so if the alcohol I've taken is usually above 40%. Then again , I don't even bother checking ..

I can now probably convince my parents to get me a new PC in the three years to come since they can now get RM3000 income tax relief. More books for me to now that the tax cut has increased to RM1000.

Since the "Visit Malaysia Year 2007" campaign's gonna start next year in conjunction with 50 years of independence, the changes in immigration procedures for tourists come with no surprise. The influx of tourists from China, India and the Middle East can clearly be noticed in the country. The one year multiple-entry visas will truly ease their travels here as well as encourage them to come back again in the same year. The newly implemented visa-on-arrival thing is a significant improvement. More tourists will feel the ease and hopefully it will benefit the tourists from the West particularly the Europeans.

I shall not bore you all any further with financial aspects of the country's econom as I know not many of you all are interested. I do however find pleasure to some extent in dwelling with the country's financial figures. Clarifying for the last time, I am half-malaysian .. haha

-tata-