Menteri Besar Osman Sapian has denied allegations by some quarters that the Johor 2019 budget is a recycled budget, stressing that it balances people’s needs and reality.

He said the state government prepared the budget based on the concept of “from the people, for the people and to the people”.

“We will continue with any initiative that brings well-being to the people of Johor, so that Johor’s economic growth is not dampened.

“This is the beauty of the parliamentary democracy that we practise. This combination of ideas from the government and the opposition is refined and improved upon, resulting in the most benefits for the people,” he said during the winding-up session on the Johor 2019 budget at the State Legislative Assembly in Kota Iskandar today.

He was replying to allegations by several BN state assembly representatives that the budget has been copied from that of the previous administration.

Osman, who is also Kempas assemblyperson, said the BN representatives themselves had given inconsistent figures in their allegations.

“Semarang (Samsolbari Jamali) in his remarks said 87 percent of today’s budget is a repetition of the previous administration’s budget, while Panti (Hahasrin Hashim) said the previous government’s initiatives comprise 85 percent of the budget.

"Meanwhile, Penawar (Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain) alleged that 83 percent of the budget originated from the BN administration’s budget tabled by the previous menteri besar. Tenggaroh (K Raven Kumar) also made a similar allegation, claiming that 80 percent of the budget had come from the previous administration," he added.

New initiatives

Osman clarified that of the 207 focus points in the Johor 2019 budget, 91 are new initiatives introduced by the state government.

“I would like to stress here that as a pro-people government, we are not abandoning any existing initiatives but in fact are improving on them, based on the aspirations and current capacity of the state government,” he said.

The menteri besar said the improvements include boosting the incentive for undergraduate students at public and private higher learning institutions to RM1,000.

“The state government is also highlighting the creative economy to ensure Johor’s continued economic growth,” he said, citing Kluang district as a creative economy hub.

On Nov 29, the state government tabled a surplus budget of RM3.43 million for 2019.

Meanwhile, Osman urged BN not to question the RM3 million allocation to the Indian community for entrepreneurship programmes, welfare and repair of Indian national-type schools.

He said the state government provides various types of assistance to the people irrespective of race, religion or political ideology.

“These include the 'Insentif Harapan Johor', 'Kad Sihat Johor' health card, free water programme, and vouchers for the financing of affordable homes.

“All these forms of assistance are given fairly and equitably to those who are eligible, because we are all bangsa Johor,” he added.

- Bernama