A budget to combat a pandemic, building resilience

By ZAIDI ISHAM ISMAIL

It was obvious from the start, there was something different about Budget 2021.

From the moment Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz took the stand, it was obvious that next year's budget was all about combating COVID-19 as well as build the rakyat's tenacity.

Budget 2021 was like no other, with a huge chunk of RM17 billion alone allocated to our frontliners to fight the pandemic.

And why not? We owe it to our health sector and the security forces who slug it out under the searing heat and torrential rains while we sit it and sleep under lockdown in our comfy homes.

And for their undying sacrifice, we owe it to the frontliners and security forces and can't express our gratitude enough.

And Zafrul was aware of the long arduous road ahead which the rakyat need to endure in a COVID-19 vaccineless world.

Another huge chunk of the budget was prepped for the rakyat to build mental capacity and perseverance to fight the pandemic.

This invisible disease will be with us for the long haul and we will need to co-exist with it possibly for the next one or two years.

Thus the rakyat must psyche their minds mentally and physically to face the harsh realities of life in the near to medium future.

By giving cash handouts, the rakyat must realise that it just but a temporary respite while they look for a job or find a new business.

The Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat is not much but is enough to tide the rakyat over until he or she finds a job.

This budget is clearly about sustenance and sustaining things until the situation improves.

That is why a large portion of the budget was allocated for the domestic economy.

There were a lot of cash handouts for the rakyat and grants all meant to boost domestic consumption.

Economists always portend that eventhough the global economy is sluggish, the domestic economy can be a saving grace preventing the  it from collapsing.

And for that, certain sectors have to take a back seat such as the tourism and aviation sectors.

The two sectors received next to nothing under this budget as the situation is still dire and to help them currently is futile.

The rakyat is still afraid to travel until a vaccine is found and until then, hotel and tourism operators have to indefinitely bite the bullet.

Others sectors such as the capital markets also had to make do for our frontliners so that they have enough funds to combat the scourge for us.

Maybe next year, it is the turn of other sectors to receive goodies under budget 2022.

And now for the year or years ahead, the country and the rakyat will continue to face challenges until a vaccine is found.

Until then, we will continue to soldier on by being active economically and domestically.

The country has to trudge on until the economy rebounds, employment rate picks up and investments return.

In the words of Zafrul and I quote "Together as one, with resilience we will triumph."

Yes, the years ahead will be challenging but in the past 63 years since indepence, the country has faced trials and tribulations before.

This impediment is no different and God willing, Malaysia will emerge stronger and unscathed.  -  DagangNews.com

The writer is a former NST Business assistant editor and now a Special Writer for DagangNews.com