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Not our job to praise budget, says opposition leader

KUALA LUMPUR: It is not the opposition's role to praise the 2025 Budget, but rather, it is that of the government's backbenchers, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the opposition's duty was to highlight the shortcomings of the budget rather than reiterate its positive aspects.

Hamzah (PN-Larut) said this in response to Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang), who pointed out that the former had nothing good to say about the budget during his debate.

Hassan also cited several forms of assistance provided in the budget, including RM13 billion for the Rahmah cash assistance and RM2.78 billion for subsidies and incentives for farmers and fishermen.

"If Pasir Gudang (Hassan) truly listened to my speech from the beginning, I congratulated the budget (announcement) as there are many good aspects, but I did not detail each one.

"What I want to highlight now are the less-favourable aspects. If I were to mention the good things, what would be the point?

"I will focus on the less-favourable aspects so we can address what is lacking. If I also want to raise good things, that is the job of the backbenchers. That is Kampar's (Chong Zhemin, PH-Kampar) role, that is the role of that side (the government)," he said during the debate on the 2025 Budget.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled the 2025 Budget (Supply Bill 2025) with an allocation of RM421 billion.

The bill would be debated by members of parliament at the policy level from today until Nov 5, followed by responses from ministers over four days.

The session will proceed with the committee-level debate from Nov 13 to Dec 3, before it is approved by the Dewan Rakyat.

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