MIRI: Most of the citizens are hoping that the announcement of Budget 2019 which will be made by the Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today will delight all walks of life.
It is expected that this first budget tabled by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Government will focus on reducing the burden of the people and cost of living.
An employee in the private sector, Alrin Joseph, 40, said that the cost of living was currently high especially in the city as it weighs down on the low and middle income groups.
He added that although the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been abolished by the PH government, some of the other items were still expensive and there were no reduction in prices.
“After more than five months of PH’s rule, I have yet to see the new government’s effort to find ways to reduce the cost of living for the people. “For example, the rise of petrol prices. Not only it increases daily travel costs, but also results in higher food prices, building materials and health costs.
“The people want a holistic solution which allows everyone to enjoy and expect that Budget 2019 to promise something good for the people,” he said. Alrin also said that the rise of various daily necessities and services resulted in the limited amount of money to be spent.
Meanwhile, civil servant, Cath Lajang, 38, hoped that the budget will not forget the civil servants. “I hope that the assistance and bonuses to civil servants can be continued. “Usually at the end and beginning of the year, we need extra amount of money to spend on the children’s needs,” she said.
She added that if there were no bonuses, raise the salary of civil servants to enable them especially those with moderate and low wages to live a better life as well as address the rising cost of living.
