Malaysia lacks funds to deal with terror attacks, says Nur Jazlan

Indonesian police cordoning off an area which was hit by militants in Jakarta yesterday. Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan believes Putrajaya must prioritise security after the bomb attacks in the Indonesian capital. – Reuters file pic, January 15, 2016. Putrajaya must not slash the Home Ministry’s allocated budget as it lacks funds to cope with terrorist attacks, says Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed as quoted by the New Straits Times.

The revised Budget 2016 will be announced on January 28 but Nur Jazlan, the deputy home minister, says the ministry’s RM12 billion this year only covers operational expenditure.

“We haven’t even budgeted for an emergency situation and the Finance Ministry is planning to cut our business-as-usual budget.

“If anything happens, we would be limited in deploying our forces, vehicles and equipment as all of this costs money.

"We will usually adjust our business-as-usual budget to cover such events, but it seems that would be cut, too. If that happens, we will be lacking in funds," Nur Jazlan to the English-language daily.

He said the revised budget should prioritise security in the wake of the bomb attacks yesterday in Indonesian capital Jakarta.

He added that cuts to the home ministry's budget would affect staff morale, and that 80% of it went to the police force.

“We are talking about cutting salaries, overtime and mobilisation costs here. Our staff will be upset,” he said.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, prime minister and finance minister, said the national budget would be revised to take into account Malaysia's falling revenue due to lower oil prices and uncertainties in the global economy.

The national budget tabled last October should be more “realistic” and in line with the current economic situation, he said.

Budget 2016 was tabled when oil was US$48 a barrel. The price has now fallen to below US$33 (RM145) a barrel. – January 15, 2016.