In a survey conducted by local think tank Emir Research, it was found that less than half of Malaysians polled agreed that Budget 2021 is enough to meet the needs of the public. In fact, a quarter of the respondents stated outright that they did not think Budget 2021 was sufficient.

In the survey, respondents were asked whether they disagreed or agreed to seven statements in order to gauge their responses on Budget 2021, which was tabled last year. The seven statements were as follows:

• Provision of funds to address Covid-19 should be increased
• Increased allocation for vulnerable groups
• Budget 2021 is sufficient to meet the needs of the people
• Budget 2021 assists SMEs and micro-SMEs
• Budget 2021 is used as a political tool
• High allocation for controversial and non-essential outfits
• Budget deficits

6 out of 10 respondents agreed that the provision of funds to address Covid-19 should be further increased, and that there is a need to increase the allocation for vulnerable groups. Just 4 out of 10 respondents agreed that Budget 2021 was being used as a political tool, with 37% agreeing that there was a high allocation for controversial and non-essential outfits.

It was found that the youngest group of respondents aged 30 years and below were in significantly less agreement that Budget 2021 was sufficient to meet the people’s needs compared to other age groups. Meanwhile, respondents aged 41 and above were in higher agreement that Budget 2021 has a high allocation for controversial and non-essential outlays, and that it is being used as a political tool.

As for rural and urban demographic differences, respondents from the rural group demonstrated higher agreement that Budget 2021 was sufficient to meet the people’s needs and has a high allocation for controversial and non-essential outfits.

The survey by Emir Research was conducted in December last year, involving 1,976 respondents nationwide in face-to-face interviews and focus groups.

(Source: Malay Mail)

• TAGS:
• Budget 2021
• Covid-19
• Emir Research
• Malaysians
• Polls
• Surveys