Friday, September 7, 2007

Budget 2008...another yawn!

Budget 2008 update.

Woohoo! Contrary to what was written in this original post, apparently the gomen did not raise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. Not that I care about the former anyway.

And no, I didn’t sit through the whole tabling but I was ecstatic when my wheelchair comrade from Melaka sent an sms to inform me they are increasing the Elaun Perkerja Cacat (EPC) from RM200 to RM300 monthly. A spanking RM100 increment. Good news galore!

Personally I think this year’s ‘Bajet’ is good enough to win my vote. BUT, fat chance, fellas. The anarchism in me is still very thick. I shall remain a non-voter and refrain from casting my valuable vote.

Thanks anyway.

The original post.

So the Budget is here again. Seriously, what else is new about this whole budget thing? Its too predictable and if I were in the Dewan I’d fell asleep.

I bet you we’ll hear the much-anticipated increment on sin taxes to the applaud of everyone present, including from the same YBs who smokes and drinks, immediately after the announcement.

Then you’ll get the usual “this year's budget is a gift for the rakyat. Its people friendly and blablabla shit”. Only this time around it is called the Merdeka Gift.

Sure.

Haven’t we heard all that before?

How about this for a fresh idea. Increase on OKU’s allowance up to 50%. After all, you guys are supposed to be generous. So what is there for a lousy 50% from your part? Tax increment on the alcohol can be channeled to JKM, in line with government’s campaign in promoting a healthy lifestyle.

I may have to fork out a few more sens on cigarettes but apart from that, I don’t see any point to be glued in front of the tele witnessing the whole sitting.

Its boring.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

When we study the budget thoroughly (which I can't coz I am no economist) its the rich who really gain. I truly hope they increase welfare aids to the poor and truly needy and I am being selfish here, I hope they finally give us civil servants 2 months bonus. And while we are at it, how about a reduction in income-tax and driving licence fees/

cakapaje said...

You sat through the whole tabling? Hmm...salute! I had only glimpses of such thing along time ago. Then, I thought they were using Javanese as the language, I have never ever watched it again. They are, aren't they? :)

Bailey said...

yawnnnnnn.....

another boring speech.

mcmanalah aku leh tsesat jd journo. hehe.

Anonymous said...

Kerp,

Wa-la-wey, dari nak tulis pasal girlfriend terus tulis pasal budget!! Caya la..memang peka dengan issue semasa betul.

Guess who?

Unknown said...

why is that everytime this pembentangan bajet, I feel some sort like tipah akan tertipu lagi dgn janji-janji manis madu yang buat tipah boleh loya?

my bos tanya: pembentangan bajet pukul berapa..my answer: tak nak tahu lah bos..buat sakit hati je dengar...

Bos akak jeling kat akak..opsss..tercelupar lak mulut ni petang ni...hehehe

Mior Azhar said...

You don't have to be in the Dewan to fall asleep. I went shopping for books with daughter when the budget were tabled. Saja larik from TV at home takut tertengok. Itu pun Fly FM dok sibuk broadcast snippets of the budget. Hampeh betul

tokasid said...

Salam kerp:
Pembantangan budget? What budget, bro?
Ohh... yang satu untuk kau satu untuk aku tu eh?

Rugi aku tak tengok, kalau tak boleh tidor tanpa sedatives dan dapat tgk lawak free.

Salt N Turmeric said...

i think our (msian) taxes are stil low compared to here. the last time i was working back in kl, u dont get tax if u earn rm2k and less a mth, right? kat sini even if u earn 200/week, u stil get taxed. not to mention the 7.75% tax everytime u shop fr food to clothes. lag satu, kalau beli plastic bottled drinks (water and soda) ul have to pay an additional 5c for each bottle or 10c for 2liter bottle for crv (cali recycling value or sumthin like tht) eventho the recycling value itself is less than tht.

if u own a house, u also have to pay school tax, back in philly we paid 2500/yr eventho we of course dontv any kids yet. thts why we sold the hse and rent an apt.

im not saying all is rosy in msia but when it comes to taxes, trust me, its a hell lot worse here and the system works only if ur either really poor or really rich. thank god we'r not the former but we'r very very very far fr the latter.

p.s. kalau nak cakap pasal medical, dental, prescriptions and eye. let me just say tht with our best dental insurance coverage, we still have to fork out 4500 of our own money (of the total 11-12k)! on top of our monthly premium of course.

Salt N Turmeric said...

lupa nak cakap, my mom told her dentist friend kat mindef abt how much we had to pay so she offered me a somewht free dental works when i go back. i so not gonna do anything here anymore unless its urgent. lol! cant wait to go home!;)

Pi Bani said...

Kerp,
To me senang aje. I never complain about whatever dibentang dalam budget (I never listen to the budget speech anyway... I'd rather wait for the reporters to summarise the important points for me... :)). Usually the budget is good tak kiralah Belanjawan pilihanraya ke... belanjawan merdeka ke...

My only question is whether the funds meant for the poor will actually reach the intended recipients, especially the hard core poor.

Accia said...

salam kerp,
i was in the car when my hubby turn on the radio and the budget was on air. it was about pinjaman buku teks to all the kids tak kira pendapatan ibubapa. hah! at last, parents tak perlu cuba nak tipu pasal pendapatan mereka for this!

Light said...

Hey, my Malaysian friend smsed me regarding no hike in alcohol and nicotine. I smell elections lurking at the corner

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Cikgu,

Hey, they actually did it. it has caught most of us wheelers by surprise. I don’t know laa..maybe I shld stop whining for the time being.

Bro shah,

No I didn’t even catch a glimpse of it. I’d rather count sheep or watch some golf…hahaha

Bailey,

i’m singing a different tune now. what came out of the budget nudged me off of my afternoon slumber.

Kak mystery,

I wld love to write abt my girl but err, lemme ask if she’s ok with that idea of yours. good idea tho, no less.

Kak Dalilah,

Too bad la this year nothing much for the civil servant, unless u work on the fourth floor. Haha..

Akak with the gomen or the private sector? Just curious.

Bg mior,

Betul la bang. U cant run from the budget but catch a glimpse to it. its like our tv/radio stations were invaded and taken over by the aliens. Hahah.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Doc,

This time around, 2 utk aku la…

1) candu tak naik
2) elaun pekerja cacat naik rm100. bnyk tu ikut standard saya.

PJ,

The thing is, standards of living between the two countries are world’s apart. lets just talk abt our Malaysia. There r majority of us who hv not traveled abroad their entire life. These r of poor background normally. They r the ones feeling the pinch. As someone put it, the rich gets richer and the poor, well, lets just say they’re thankful enough to have food on the breakfast and dinner table.

Kak Pi,

Yes, lets hope so. As we can see, the hardcore poor r very much around us. Budgets came and gone with promises in between but sadly, empty vessels.

OKU has been promised that the increment will take effect January next year. Only time can tell.

Kak Accia,

This is another good example of ‘people friendly’ budget. Its almost too good to be true. But come towards the end of the year’s school break, kita tgk if they exercise what has been promised. Pinjaman buku text can save a lot la akak. Buku bukan murah. Lagi2 yg ada 3-4 school-going children.

Smokey,

That sms u received is so true. Again, when someone told me abt it I thought it was a too good to be true kinda thing. But its not a myth. More power to the drunkards!!


Thanks guys. happy budgeting til the next price hike.

sankochan said...

do you know if buying 'sports shoes' constitute in a tax reduction for sports equipment??

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

sandra,

really? i didnt know that. that shld be good right? ir were u asking me if i knew anything abt it.

hey, get a pair of crocs lar. its the 'in' thing of today. but it wldnt surprise me if u already hv a pair.

mariannie said...

Salam

Budget??oh...I'm out of date he...he...another yawn..a great topic to discuss about. Jangan berharap sangat dengan duit kerajaan. Because we don't have any relationship with "pembesar-pembesar"

Daphne Ling said...

Hey Danny,

Sorry for taking so long to visit...

Ah-ha! I know who's going to chia me minum teh tarik when I go KL...

Hehehe...

Kidding ler...But I memang support full the gomen increasing the money to OKU's...If it were up to me, it should be more...

Hey! I'm eligible to vote adi this year...Wondering what to do with it ;)

Daphne Ling said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mat Salo said...

Hey bro'..

I'm with Cikgu Nazir, he's got a point that the new budget really favors corporate businesses, and by extension - orang kaya lah.

Because they (no need to spell out who 'they' are) are already 'kaya' they forget the little people-lah. But at least you get an extra allowance. But tell me, how much dent in the budget is that?

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Kak mariannie,

Eh, this year’s budget is good for us apparently. EPC naik rm100 kak. Although it shld hv been increased long time ago, this one is very much a welcome one.

Daph,

We can yam cha, yam seng together all u wish. But yam seng has to do with uncle B la..haha

To me rm300 is quite a lot. I mean, in our situation, we were happy to be receiving rm200 monthly, and now rm100 more. I’m ecstatic when I first heard it.

Hey, my internet is back…woohooo..

Bro Mat Salo,

Yes, it is tiny to them even they increased to rm300 more. But we’re contented lar bang. We wldnt want to push our luck. Maybe the best to sum this year’s budget up is the rich and the poor/needy gains, but none for the middle class? I don’t know. Bg mat, at least rokok tak naik bro…hahaha

I haven’t started SLOW MAN as yet. Simpan buat bekal bulan puasa. haha..thanks bg Mat!

Thanks guys!!