Over-reliance on Petronas dangerous

Opposition MPs expressed concern with the government's over-reliance on national oil giant Petronas’ revenue, which dipped RM59 billion or 37.5 percent for the first half of the financial year.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said the opposition was "alarmed by the drastic decrease of revenue and profitability."

According to Anwar, Petronas contributed almost 44.9 percent to the country's revenue last year.

He said the dependency on Petronas' revenue and income has skewed the overall picture of the economy and the government continues drawing from Petronas for its inability to "resuscitate the economy" since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.

"In 2005, Petronas contributed RM32.1 billion to the national budget and by 2008 this became RM74 billion - a whopping increase of 130 percent within five years," said Anwar, adding that the government's withdrawal is gradually increasing by 21 percent every year.

According to the Permatang Pauh MP, the opposition had called on the government to take into account the drop in crude oil prices and revisit the 2009 national budget.

"This sensible and responsible call was ignored, reflective of the arrogance of the Barisan Nasional government," he said.

Growth rate too optimistic

Anwar noted that the government will not have enough money to cover its expenses as the profits of Petronas have dropped more than 50 percent.

He said that the government's growth rate target for 2010 was too optimistic as there will not be enough money to be pumped into the national economy.

The deficit target for the 2009 and 2010 budget will also have to be revised, added Anwar.

He urged the government to be transparent about the impact of Petronas' profit drop, saying the prime minister should then divulge the revised budget projections.

He reasoned that the economy's reliance on Petronas is not sustainable and unhealthy in the long run as crude oil and liquefied gas reserves in the country are estimated to last another 23 years and 43 years respectively.

Don't burden people with taxes

Meanwhile, according to DAP MP Tony Pua, current numbers show that Petronas is estimated to rake in RM65 billion in March compared to RM89 billion this year.

He said that the budget deficit is expected to increase significantly from the projected 5.6 percent.

The MP added that it was disappointing the government had failed to set aside some of Petronas' bumper revenues over the past four years, amounting to RM217 billion.

Instead, Pua said the government had spent every cent and incurred additional debts on top of that.

He asserted that the government should not burden the public by making up for the shortfall through taxes.

"Before the government even considers taking more from the rakyat, it should firstly implement fully transparent and accountable practices for the implementation of government procurement and projects.

"The government should take this valuable opportunity to restructure the large and bureaucratic government machinery to be more lean and efficient," said Pua.