Kuala Lumpur: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said taxation is necessary but assured that his government will not burden the people and the business community with excessive taxes.
Anwar said his administration will be guided by this “sound principle” when formulating Budget 2024.
“It is our intention to ensure that both foreign and domestic investors would see it as an opportunity to enter the business enterprise (and be rewarded),” he said when opening the National Tax Conference 2023 today.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said excessive taxation would be futile if governance issues were not addressed.
“(There are) too many leakages. We spend RM22 billion for the people but we have leakages of around RM5 billion to RM6 billion. (It has) all gone haywire,” he said.
“We (approved) contracts whether for flood mitigation or (the) Jana Wibawa (programme), and yet such funds have been siphoned off. This has to stop and it must stop now.”
In February, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that RM5.7 billion worth of Jana Wibawa projects had been temporarily halted pending a review to determine if they followed Treasury procedures.
During the tabling of Budget 2023, Anwar had said the government would re-tender six flood mitigation projects by June, adding that RM2 billion could be saved from the initial RM15 billion allocation.
Today, he stressed that he and his administration will not tolerate those who disregard the rule of law, regardless of their social or political status.
“As I’ve said earlier, whether you are a minister, Tun or Tan Sri, you must respect the law, or we will have to go after you,” he said.
