KUALA LUMPUR: The 2025 Budget (Belanjawan 2025), tabled earlier today by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, lacked the "wow" factor and did not have any significant announcements, said Perikatan Nasional's Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
The Tasek Gelugor member of parliament said no plans were announced for opening the economy to foreign investors or providing incentives for domestic investors.
"I was also hoping for more substantial announcements regarding our role as Asean chair in 2025, what we can expect from the consideration of joining the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Malaysia's participation in BRICS, and what we actually want to achieve next year by engaging with these organisations.
"That was what I was waiting for, but it was not very clear in the speech.
"That is why I feel many of the announcements were somewhat superficial, and the main 'oomph' was lacking.
"However, these details might be in the documents, and we need to study them first," he said to reporters after the tabling of the 2025 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Wan Saiful also said there was a somewhat "underwhelming" reaction from government MPs during the Budget presentation.
"Even from the government side, the reaction we observed was somewhat underwhelming.
"I believe there might have been some difficulty in fully digesting such a long speech, and there were a few points that were unclear earlier.
"However, I think the reaction reflects how we were expecting some significant announcements, but they didn't materialise."
Wan Saiful, however, acknowledged that a few initiatives announced must be recognised.
These include the initiative for families with autistic children, an issue that had long been raised by those affected, he said.
"At the same time, we also saw other aid programmes, such as tax relief provided by the National Education Savings Scheme (SSPN).
"This is something I fought for when I was at the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), and it has been continued, which I believe is a good thing," he said.