BERA: The 2023 Budget, which has to be re-tabled, will be further improved in line with the Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto that was unveiled yesterday.
Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said most of the points in the BN manifesto announced last night were already presented in the 2023 Budget which was tabled in Parliament on Oct 7.
He said there were some fresh initiatives in the BN manifesto that will be new offers to the voters if the coalition is given the mandate to lead the government on Nov 19.
"If BN secures victory, the budget will be re-tabled in Parliament as there are some new things which were announced in the manifesto, such as free higher education for B40 families.
"Any new announcements listed in the manifesto and which were not tabled in the 2023 Budget will be presented again with improvements," he told reporters after attending a "Kenduri Rakyat" programme at Kampung Bohor Baru in Kuala Bera here today.
Ismail Sabri, who will defend the Bera seat, visited seven traditional villages and housing settlements and met with the Orang Asli community here.
Meanwhile, he rubbished claims that the middle-income (M40) groups had been sidelined in the BN manifesto, saying that there were various initiatives introduced to help them.
"A two per cent income tax deduction as well as e-wallets worth RM100 are among the initiatives introduced by the BN government for the group. The initiatives for the M40 are still given attention even though it was not specifically mentioned.
"The manifesto with five main thrusts involving 99 initiatives will bring great benefit to the Malaysian Family," he said.
Yesterday, BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi launched the coalition's manifesto for GE15 entitled "Perancangan Amal dan Usaha" or Padu.
Described as "a new and fresh deal", Padu outlined 99 efforts by the BN coalition to lead and develop the country.
#kw: Ismail Sabri, manifesto, BN, Bera
