Accent on productivity gets the thumbs up

Accent on productivity gets the thumbs up REPORTS BY B. SURESH RAM, HUSNA YUSOP, R. SURENTHIRA KUMAR, LLEW-ANN PHANG, ANANSA JACOB AND GIAM SAY KHOON BARISAN NASIONAL BACKBENCHERS Club chairman Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad (pix) said Budget 2006 focused a lot of attention on productivity and efficiency. He said the backbenchers were also happy that attention was given to matters such as natural gas and alternative fuel. Shahrir said he was also confident the country's niche economic sectors would be able to face the competition from economic giants China and India. He said competition from other countries does not mean that Malaysia was duplicating what was happening elsewhere, as the country has it own resources to fall back on. "For example, we have palm oil which can be converted into biofuel and made available for export," he said. Meanwhile, there were contrasting views among the opposition MPs. PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar (Tumpat) said there was no clear indication as to how the government was going to tackle the various shortcomings plaguing the economy. "Our first impression was that the prime minister did not give any clear indication on how to spur economic growth," he said. He said the budget did not explain how the country was going to maintain a higher growth rate nor was there any mention of how it was going to face challenges from emerging economic giants China and India, in attracting foreign direct investment. Kamaruddin said the finance minister also did not say a single word on the automotive sector and how to resolve the crisis it was in. DAP deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw (Kepong), speaking on behalf of his party, said the budget was quite positive as it touched on areas which required attention. "This is a positive sign such as in the corporate sector which benefited in the form of flexible taxation, and bonds," he said. Tan said the move to allocate about 20% of the budget to education is a step in the right direction. He said the move to promulgate new laws on renewable energy as well as its promotion in the form of tax breaks and financial allocation was the right step towards easing dependence on traditional fuels. Datin Seri Dr Wan Wan Azizah Wan (Keadilan-Permatang Pauh), who described it as a cautious budget, said there were some good points such as attention being paid on alternative fuel. However, she said the budget does not do much to attract foreign direct investment. Attention was also not paid to areas such as research and development or improving the public transportation system.