Connect with us

Published

on

KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday unveiled an expanded RM388 billion (S$118 billion) government budget for this year which focused on supporting Malaysias lower-income groups, taxing the wealthy and keeping the national debt in check.

The Pakatan Harapan chief, who is also Finance Minister, is taking advantage of higher government revenue to raise spending, after Malaysias economy performed better than expected last year with economic growth at 8.7 per cent.

Budget 2022 was valued at RM332.1 billion but actual spending, largely due to a record RM80 billion in subsidies resulting from soaring fuel costs, came in at RM395.2 billion. Stripping out the subsidy element expected to be capped at RM64 billion this year, thanks to lower oil prices the governments expenditure this year is set to exceed that of last year.

Some of the expenditure will be channelled towards the lower-income groups in the form of lower personal income taxes, tax incentives for small enterprises and RM8 billion in cash handouts to the poorest 60 per cent.

Datuk Seri Anwar justified the additional spending in the face of global economic uncertainties, warning that despite a strong recovery last year, Malaysias growth has been trending downwards. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, growth was 3.8 per cent, 3.5 per cent, 1.9 per cent and -2.6 per cent across 2022.

As income and wealth is concentrated among the upper classes and wealthy elite, it is appropriate that redistribution is focused on the poor and middle-class, he said.

Fridays Budget was Mr Anwars first since taking office after the general election in November.

Although national polls have already taken place, Budget 2023 is still seen as an election budget because six states are expected to head to the ballot box in July, with about half of Malaysias electorate casting their vote.

The result of this vote will have a huge impact on the stability of Mr Anwars administration, especially if its political partner Umno does not improve on its poor showing in November. The so-called unity government was cobbled together after the election resulted in Malaysias first ever hung Parliament.

So far, government finances appear to be in Mr Anwars favour.

The fiscal deficit was 5.6 per cent of GDP last year, lower than the targeted 6 per cent, thanks to the 8.7 per cent economic growth which exceeded projections of 6.5 to 7 per cent.

A larger economy will also boost government coffers, which means Mr Anwar can still aim to trim the deficit to 5 per cent this year despite his ambitious spending plan and gross domestic product growth expected to moderate to 4.5 per cent this year.

This growth estimate is higher than World Bank and Fitch projections of 4 per cent and Mr Anwar was optimistic that efforts to implement reforms and Budget 2023 measures would see Malaysia surpass his own 4.5 per cent target.

He also added that while revenue estimates of RM291.5 billion for 2023 are lower than the RM294.4 billion collected last year, this is before taking into account additional sources that will be announced in coming weeks. More On This Topic Malaysia to focus on living costs, raising wages as growth slows ahead of looming state polls Malaysian PM Anwar rules out reintroducing GST despite high debt The Premier did not offer more details on these measures but said in his speech that a tax on luxury goods as well as e-cigarettes and vaping would be introduced.

This is on top of a tax hike for 150,000 taxpayers who earn over RM100,000 a year.

He also committed to continue reducing the Budget deficit to 3.2 per cent in 2025, stressing at the start of his speech that his government had inherited debt which is expected to breach RM1.2 trillion this year, or 60 per cent of GDP. Servicing the interest alone would require RM46 billion, or 16 per cent of revenue.

The Premier also focused on corruption and administrative leakages, revealing that RM10 billion in diesel subsidies was misappropriated last year. Meanwhile, RM22 billion in flood mitigation and deals to empower Bumiputera contractors handed out through direct negotiations were reopened for tender bids, with expected savings of RM3 billion.

This is proof of the excesses… that must be stopped if we want the nation to leap forward, he said.

Malaysias fiscal trajectory is closely watched by the marketplace after two years of Covid-19 restrictions, when the government was forced to deepen borrowings to pay for welfare and economic stimulus packages.

Development expenditure will surge this year to RM99 billion including a standard RM2 billion reserve for unforeseen circumstances which was classified under development for the first time from RM71.6 billion in 2022, with the largest segment to be spent on improving transport infrastructure including for urban rail networks, roads and ports. More On This Topic What Anwar needs to do to tackle Malaysia's rising cost of living Malaysias economy a tale of two halves

Continue Reading

Sports

‘Fun night’: Schwarber has MLB’s 21st 4-HR game

Published

on

By

'Fun night': Schwarber has MLB's 21st 4-HR game

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs Thursday night against Atlanta to become the 21st major leaguer and fourth Phillies player to accomplish the feat.

Schwarber was 4-for-6 with a Phillies-record nine RBI in the 19-4 victory. He took the outright National League homer lead with a career-high 49 and moved within one of Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the major league lead. Schwarber leads the majors with a career-high 119 RBIs.

“It’s pretty cool,” Schwarber said. “It was a fun night, great atmosphere. Wouldn’t want to do it with a better group of guys than we have here.”

Mike Schmidt was the last Philadelphia player to hit four homers in a game, doing so at the Chicago Cubs in April 1976. Schwarber had the third four-homer game of the season, following Eugenio Suárez and Nick Kurtz.

Schwarber’s 49 homers passed Ryan Howard (2008) and Schmidt (1980) for the second most in a season in Phillies history, trailing only Ryan Howard’s 58 in 2006.

“It just cooperated,” said Schwarber, who had entered the game hitless in his last 20 at-bats, by far the longest such streak entering a four-home run game since 1900. “You can do everything right and get out, and you can do everything wrong and get a hit. Got some pitches and put some good swings on it.”

Schwarber started the power surge with a solo shot in the first inning off Cal Quantrill, sending a 2-1 curveball into the right-field seats. Schwarber hit a flyout to center in the second.

After Quantrill was lifted with one out and two runners on base in the fourth, Schwarber greeted lefty Austin Cox by sending a 3-2 curveball over the wall in right for his fourth multihomer game of the season.

With “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants ringing down from Phillies fans in the fifth, Schwarber launched a three-run drive to left off Cox to put Philadelphia ahead 15-3. In the seventh, Schwarber hit a three-run shot to right off Wander Suero to make it 18-4.

Schwarber popped out in the eighth against Braves third baseman Vidal Brujan.

“I stink against position players,” Schwarber said jokingly. “All you’re trying to do is get a good pitch. I got the pitch. Just popped it up.”

Schwarber, 32, has 333 homers in 11 seasons in the majors primarily with the Cubs and Phillies. He had a previous career high of 47 home runs in 2023 for Philadelphia.

The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Seager has appendectomy; return date unknown

Published

on

By

Seager has appendectomy; return date unknown

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager had an appendectomy Thursday after experiencing abdominal pain during a game the previous night.

Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, said Seager had surgery in Texas after the team traveled to California for the start of a series against the Athletics on Friday night.

Young said it was too early to know how much time the two-time World Series MVP will miss.

“Corey, he’s extremely impactful for our team, and at this point in the season, with everything we’ve experienced thus far, that’s a tough blow,” Young said. “… I will express that Corey did not want to rule out the season, and in fact, he’s been researching athletes who’ve come back from this quickly.”

Seager will be placed on the 10-day injured list and the Rangers will call up utility player Dylan Moore, who had just been signed to a minor league contract after being released by AL West rival Seattle. Center fielder Evan Carter (broken right wrist) is going to be transferred to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Young said Josh Smith is expected to see the majority of time at shortstop while Seager is out.

It was initially thought that Seager came out of their 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night because of the lopsided score. The Rangers were up 11-1, and he hit his team-leading 21st homer and scored three times before manager Bruce Bochy replaced Seager in the field in the top of the fifth inning.

“So did I,” Young said. “Boch was taking him out anyway, but the timing kind of lined up simultaneously.”

Young said Seager had experienced some pain before the game, but nothing that concerned the team or the shortstop. But that pain increased while playing, and he was diagnosed with appendicitis when he was evaluated after coming out of the game.

The Rangers, who have won five of their past six games, are 4½ games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final American League wild-card spot. They also must leapfrog the Kansas City Royals, who are 1½ games ahead of the Rangers.

“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, and we can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Young said. “… In the last week, we’ve shown great resilience. I’m extremely proud of our group and our guys and the way they fought. I expect them to continue fighting. We’ll see what happens. I put no limitations on what a group of guys can do when they believe in each other.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Mets catcher Alvarez has fractured pinkie finger

Published

on

By

Mets catcher Alvarez has fractured pinkie finger

NEW YORK — In his latest setback, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was diagnosed with a fracture in the pinkie finger in his left hand, manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday.

Alvarez, 23, sustained the injury when he was hit by a pitch on his left hand during a game for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. Mendoza said Alvarez will wait until the inflammation in the finger diminishes — he estimated two or three days — before resuming baseball activities. The third-year catcher was already on the injured list and on rehab assignment because of an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right thumb.

“This should be relatively short,” Mendoza said. “But, again, it’s a little bit of a setback compared to what the original plan was. But when you’re talking about you get the news, ‘Oh, he’s got a fracture,’ you’re thinking about the worst-case scenario, but apparently, that’s not the case here. So we just got to wait and see.”

This is Alvarez’s fourth hand injury in the past two years. Last season, he underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and missed nearly two months. This spring, he fractured his left hamate bone and missed the first month of the regular season.

His recent UCL sprain happened while sliding headfirst into second base Aug. 17. It’s the same thumb that he hurt last year. The UCL sprain will require surgery to heal, but the Mets are hopeful he can postpone the procedure until the offseason to avoid missing the remainder of the season. The surgery requires an eight-week recovery timetable. Instead, doctors cleared him to play as long as he can tolerate the pain in his throwing hand. Tearing it completely, however, would require surgery sooner and end his season. Now, he’s dealing with a fracture in his receiving hand.

“We’re not going to put him in a position where he’s very uncomfortable,” Mendoza said. “As tough as he is, he’s human. So, I think we got to get him to a point where it’s manageable because now we’re talking about the receiving hand, too. But, again, it’s a small fracture and we just got to wait. But it comes down to making sure we’re not putting the player in a position where he’s in danger.”

Alvarez played in his first rehab game for the UCL sprain Wednesday. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and was behind the plate for five innings. His right thumb was not tested by baserunners.

“The ball was coming out fine,” Mendoza said. “Good intensity, good carry. But, again, we got to wait and see when it happens in real action. When he’s got to do the transfer and get the ball in the air as quick as possible and put something on the throw. But, so far, in between innings yesterday, the five innings that he caught, he was fine.”

The UCL sprain interrupted Alvarez’s best stretch of the season, which began with him struggling so badly that the Mets optioned him to Syracuse in late June. Alvarez was batting .236 with three home runs and a .652 OPS in 35 games when he was sent down. He returned a month later to hit .323 with four home runs and a 1.054 OPS in 21 games until his thumb injury.

Without him, the Mets will continue rotating veteran Luis Torrens and rookie Hayden Senger behind the plate.

“It’s been hard for him,” Mendoza said.

Continue Reading

Trending