PKR MP: Opposition leader should get more time to prepare budget debate

The government should give the opposition leader in Parliament more time to prepare for the annual budget debate, PKR lawmaker Hassan Karim said.

"This is so that the opposition leader can debate with a high standard of quality based on facts and figures instead of just rhetoric," Hassan said.

The Pasir Gudang MP added that in a healthy parliamentary democracy, the opposition leader is an important figure.

The national budget has traditionally been tabled on a Friday in the first week of the last Parliament session of the year.

The opposition leader is then expected to reply to the budget speech the following Monday, giving the person just two days to prepare.

Last year was an exception, as Parliament took a one-week break after the budget speech, during the Deepavali week.

Budget 2020 is scheduled to be tabled on Oct 11.

While members of the public may be familiar with the televised budget speech that typically spans about two hours, this is just an outline of the federal expenditure.

The actual budget document is very extensive and contains items that are sometimes not highlighted in the budget speech, such as cuts to expenditure for certain programmes, or increased funding for certain agencies.

The budget is a secret document until it is tabled in Parliament, hence it is not accessible by the opposition.