SHAH ALAM: The 2016 Budget would be one of the hardest budgets to be tabled, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said the current economic situation, coupled with the decreasing oil prices posed a challenge in drafting this year's budget.
"In a few days' time, I will have a difficult budget to present. One of the most difficult, especially since the price of oil has slumped.
"Fortunately, we have the GST (Goods and Services Tax). I know people are cursing it but without it, the government would have to increase other taxes," he said before officiating Gerakan's 44th National Delegates Conference here, today.
He said without GST, only 1 in 10 Malaysians paid tax. This, he added, would not be feasible for the country's economy, and the government would not be able to continue providing affordable services to the public.
He said Malaysians could see a doctor in government hospitals and clinics for only RM1 and it only costs them RM5 to see a specialist. A bypass surgery, Najib added, only costs RM500.
"(Primary and secondary) education is free, and universities are 90 per cent subsidised. For our roads and intra-city highways, we (the government) are paying RM580 million in terms of compensation.
"It's easy for people to say that the government isn't being sensitive (but) you have to realise that something has to give. You can't keep asking but (not expect) some things to increase," he added.