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15th Budget Deficit in a row
Much has been written already about the new budget, I won't repeat what has been said. There is just one item (a major one) that I don't like at all, for the 15th time in a row there will be a budget deficit:
1998: Deficit
1999: Deficit
2000: Deficit
2001: Deficit
2002: Deficit
2003: Deficit
2004: Deficit
2005: Deficit
2006: Deficit
2007: Deficit
2008: Deficit
2009: Deficit
2010: Deficit
2011: Deficit
2012: Deficit
It started in 1998, which was understandable with the huge Asian crisis going on, in 2000/1 there was the internet bubble, in 2003 there was SARS and in 2008/9 the Western financial crisis. But all the years in between, why was there a need for deficits, economic growth was fine? About 40% of the government revenue in Malaysia is from oil and gas, and social services are much less than in Western countries. A country like Malaysia should not have a structural deficit, in the contrary, being so lucky with having oil and gas.
According to this article:
Malaysia's debt is currently about RM 362,000,000,000 (362 Billion), that is close to RM 13,000 per Malaysian citizen or RM 65,000 per family of five. These are huge numbers and have to be paid back somewhere in the future.