Najib said Malaysia needed to strengthen domestic demand, lose...

Najib said Malaysia needed to strengthen domestic demand, lose its reliance on cheap imported labour, and introduce liberalisation measures to enhance competitiveness.

The 2010 budget allocation totalled 191.5 billion ringgit (56.6 billion dollars), 11.2 percent lower than the revised allocation of 215.7 billion ringgit for 2009.

"This allocation reflects prudence in government spending and gives priority to value-for-money," said Najib, adding that the cuts would not harm public sector delivery.

Operating expenditure will be slashed by 13.7 percent to 138.3 billion ringgit in an unprecedentedly large cut, helping reduce the fiscal deficit from 7.4 percent this year to 5.6 percent next year -- much lower than expected.



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