KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Saturday (Nov 7) called for bipartisan cooperation to refine the country's budget for next year, saying that he welcomed views that could benefit the public.
In an interview with television news channel Astro Awani, Tan Sri Muhyiddin said inclusiveness is needed as Budget 2021 "isn't for the government but for the rakyat (people)".
"Practising inclusiveness is good, no matter with whom. We're ready to receive any feedback and suggestion; we will observe and refine it," he said.
Mr Muhyiddin is also mulling the possibility of expanding bipartisan cooperation beyond Budget 2021, by inviting the opposition to sit in on some government meetings.
"For the next level, I'm thinking about inviting the opposition to be on the Economic Action Council, which I chair every week, or the meeting to manage Covid-19, which I chair every day. They can share their views if they feel the steps taken by us are ineffective.
"This is not about giving credit to them, but for the people to benefit from their views," he said.
This comes as the government has come under fire for the allocation of RM85.5 million to resurrect its propaganda arm - the Special Affairs Department, or Jasa.
In 2018, former ruling pact Barisan Nasional (BN) allocated RM30 million to the unit, which handles government communications.
Former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman on Friday (Nov 6) tweeted: "Unfortunately, the allocation to repair depleted schools has been reduced by RM58 million. The mental health allocation is only RM24 million."
Jasa was used by BN to attack detractors through so-called "cybertroopers" posting partisan messages online but it was abolished by the Mahathir Mohamad administration after Pakatan Harapan (PH) came to power in 2018.
This article first appeared in The Straits Times on 08 November 2020.
