No one expected it, not anyone in the world expected an actual change of government would go through, not even the “ang moh” countries, as they posted articles after articles of the world’s first ever democratic change of power that did not result from violence or result in violence. With the brand new government comes a new budget for the new year. Though it’s been almost a month since the announcement of Budget 2019, we still feel a tad bit excited for what’s in store for the nation come 2019.
Here are 5 things that definitely drove us wild when we first heard about it. While the Budgte 2019 carries the theme of “Credible Malaysia, Dynamic Economy, Prosperous Rakyat”. We’re left to wonder, could that be the case?
1) The LRT3 project is back!
So while we were all speculating if the LRT3 project would ever come back after announced that there would be a scrapping of six LRT3 stations and even some of our friends might have been worried about losing their jobs, but it looks like the government has finally managed to strike a deal that is cheaper by 47% but unfortunately the 6 stations that were given the axe will still remain as such. At least our friends will keep their jobs though!
2) Government subsidies for petrol
The Government has decided to subsidise RON96 petrol for drivers with cars that has the engine capacity of 1,500cc, and or under and those with motorcycles with an engine capacity of 125cc and under. The subsidy will be RM0.30 per litre and capped at 100 litres a month for cars and 40 litres a month for motorcycles. However, the price of RON95 will be floated after the subsidy is put into place. Previously, the diesel and RON95 price was maintained but RON97’s price was floated according to the market. But fret not, as this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! As it also indicates that prices can drop!
3) Minimum wage to increase to RM1,050 nationwide starting Jan 1, 2019
Rejoice! It is finally happening! Minimum wage will finally rise! Although just RM50, that’s 100 every 2 months, 200 every 4 months and so on and so on, while the government has said “This is not the end of the journey for minimum wage in Malaysia.” This is merely a stepping stone to greater things, do not fret! As this is definitely a step in the right direction! Woo woo! RM1,050 also means that minimum hourly wage will be RM 5.05 an hour, up from the previous RM4.81.
4) Bantuan sara hidup to increase
The government has decided to continue and in fact, improve the financial aid (Bantuan Sara Hidup) to the B40 group by providing more assistance, as Households with monthly income of RM2,000 or below will receive RM1,000 while Households with monthly income ranging from RM 2,001 to RM 3,000 and below will get a total of RM750 and finally, households with the Monthly income ranging from RM 3,001 to RM 4,000 will receive a sum of RM500. While this is good, please bear in mind that it only applies to the B40 group!
5) Duty-free islands
The Government has also announced that they are committed to make Pulau Pangkor a duty-free island. What this means is that Langkawi’s status as a duty-free island will be further expanded. Why? Because The federal Government will get a 50% share of the tourism tax proceeds received in these states. But we know what this means, Shopping! With these islands becoming duty free, it is bound to promote tourism as well, not only among the international tourists, but also among Malaysians ourselves.
While there are many things to cover in the new Budget 2019, these are the 5 things that caught us off guard, so we do encourage everyone to go and read up on the Budget 2019 and raise concerns (if any) to your local representative! 🙂
Header image source from here.
